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BIRDS THE INDIANS KNEW 
















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THE FOUR BABIES HAD STARVED TO DEATH. 





























































BIRDS THE INDIANS KNEW 


BY 

LENA C. AHLERS 

// 


ILLUSTRATED BY 

LUCILLE M. ENDERS 


ALBERf"%WHITMAN 

y 4 ^ 0 ' 


CHICAGO 



















C77& 

•A -ZS7 

V* 


CL>Ol 


Copyright 1932 

Albert Whitman & Co.,' Chicago, U. S. A. 


Printed in the U. S. A. 


OCT 22 1932 V 

©Cl A .■>6642 




CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Bob-White.1 

Bobolink.7 

Bluebirds.12 

Legends and Robins.17 

Red-Winged Blackbird.23 

Kingfisher.27 

Red-Headed Woodpecker.32 

Downy-Haired Woodpecker.36 

Hairy Woodpecker.41 

Flicker.46 

Purple Finch.50 

Wild or Passenger Pigeons. . . 54 

Terns.59 

Oven Bird.63 

Road Runner.67 

Redpoll Linnet.70 

Veery or Wilson Thrush.76 

Cardinal .79 

Scarlet Tanager.86 

Kildeer.9° 

Kinglets.94 

Scissors-Tail Flycatcher.98 

Tree Sparrow. 103 

Song Sparrow.1° 7 

Upland Plover.110 

Prairie Chickens.119 

Wild Turkeys.120 

Red-Tailed Hawk.125 


v 






























CONTENTS (Cont’d) 


PAGE 

Graceful Condor.130 

Great Horned Owl.133 

Beautiful Goldfinch.138 

Chickadee.143 

Mourning or Turtle Dove.147 

Nighthawk.152 

Baltimore Oriole.156 

Blackbirds.160 

Wrens.164 

Woodcock.168 

Humming Bird.172 

Wood Thrush.177 

Meadowlark.181 

Indigo Bunting.186 

Cuckoo.189 

Blue Jay.193 

Tree Swallow.198 

Yellow Warbler.202 

Juncoes.206 

Snowflake or Snow Bunting.209 

Chimney Swift.212 

White-Throated Swift.216 

Crossbill .219 

Chipping Sparrow.222 

Painted Bunting.226 

Brown Thrush or Thrasher.230 

Whistling Swan.234 

Albatross.238 

Cormorants.243 

Ibis.246 


vi 
































LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


The four babies had starved to death . Frontispiece 

FACING 

PAGE 

Out hopped all the insects and beetles ... 36 


She lay down with the cloth beneath her head 72 

Zacia and Tourtourelle were very dear friends 194 

The fairy found a little girl wiping her tearful 
eyes.206 

The little swift clung tightly to her friend’s 
back.216 


vn 














T HE Indians that lived in the Mississippi Valley 
and Great Lakes regions tell a quaint legend 
about how the quail got its joyous whistle. In the 
old days it is said that Terrapin had a beautiful 
whistle, the envy of all the birds. Terrapin whistled 
constantly, and he was always boasting about his 
clear, rippling, joyous whistle which seemed to start 
the echoes everywhere. All the birds liked his whis¬ 
tle, but they disliked Terrapin and thought he 
ought to be punished. 

One day when Terrapin had been especially in¬ 
solent Mr. Partridge or Mr. Quail came along and 
after complimenting Terrapin on his fine whistle 
asked to borrow it. At first Terrapin demurred, but 

1 







2 


Birds the Indians Knew 


thinking to gain the favor of Mr. Quail decided to 
let him have it for a while. He cautioned the quail 
very carefully how to use it, and admonished him to 
be sure and return it soon. So Mr. Partridge took 
the whistle and seeing how nicely he could make it 
sound, flew away and never returned it to Terrapin. 

Ivan and the Quail is a well known Russian story 
that is told about a boy and this bird. It is said that 
there was once a little boy named Ivan who lived 
in Russia. The boy’s father was a rich man and a 
great hunter and often went hunting for quail and 
partridges which lived in the nearby ravines. Ivan 
often went along with his father and their dog, 
Treasure, and he thought it was wonderful fun. He 
would shout in glee when his father shot a bird 
and Treasure would pick it up and bring it to them 
in his mouth. 

One day, as they were hunting, a quail flew up 
almost under the dog’s nose. In a few minutes 
Treasure caught the poor bird and brought it to 
them, and the father held it in his hand. “She must 
have her nest of young ones not far from here, for 
she pretended to be wounded so as to draw the dog 
away from the nest and save her little ones, but 
Treasure has hurt her and she will not live,” said 
Ivan’s father. 

Ivan saw the tragic look in the poor bird’s eyes, 
and his heart was touched with compassion. It 
seemed as if the bird was asking why she had to 
die in this cruel way. Ivan could not help but cry, 
and soon Treasure found the nest with the babies 


B O B-W HITE 


3 


in it. By and by Ivan and his father went on with 
Treasure. But a few days later the little boy re¬ 
turned to the nest and found the four babies had 
starved to death. From that day the little boy lost 
his love for hunting, and he no longer wanted the 
gun that his father had promised him. 

Few birds are more generally loved than is the 
quail, or bob-white as they are familiarly called. In 
the northern and eastern states this bird is more 
popularly known as bob-white, while in the south it 
is known as partridge. And the ruffled grouse is the 
partridge of the New England states. Other Amer¬ 
ican species are found in the west and southwest, 
among them being the California, gambel’s, and 
mountain species, the latter being the largest of 
the quail family. The blue family and massena 
species is the smallest in this family of at least sixty 
species. All these species have noticeable crests and 
beautiful plumage of a slate-blue, olive-brown or 
black and white color. Most of the other members 
of the quail family are tropical birds and several 
species are found in Europe and Asia. 

Quails are found east of the Plains, and have been 
introduced in many parts west, being known to 
hunters better than any other game bird. But they 
are one of the best friends that the farmer can have 
and deserve the fullest protection; besides they have 
many charming and attractive manners. 

Over half of the food of this bird is made up of 
weed seeds, and it has been proved that they eat 
at least one hundred and forty different kinds of 


4 


Birds the Indians Knew 


insects and bugs, many of which are very destruc¬ 
tive. This includes such obnoxious pests as cut¬ 
worms, bollworms, locusts, Colorado potato beetles, 
chinch bugs, cucumber beetles, wireworms, bill- 
bugs, cloverleaf weevils, army worms, grasshoppers 
and others. 

About one-fourth of the bird’s food consists of 
grain, which is hunted up out of the stubble and 
would otherwise go to waste. About a tenth of 
their diet consists of wild fruit. With such a list 
of food one can readily see why the bird is to be 
associated more with the ground and grass than 
with bushes and trees. One scarcely ever sees quail 
anywhere but skipping about on their dainty feet 
on the ground, or whirring through the air in rapid 
flight. 

These birds are about ten inches in length, and 
wear speckled jackets of reddish-brown with mark¬ 
ings of black, white, and buff. The tail is an ashy 
color and there is a distinct dark stripe over the eye, 
half-way resembling glasses. Of this gay creature 
George Cooper wrote: 

There's a plump little chap in a speckled coat 
And he sits on the zigzag rail remote; 

Where he whistles at breezy, bracing morn, 

When the buckwheat is ripe, and stacked the corn, 
‘Bob White! Bob White! Bob White 7 

Mrs. Quail chooses a slight depression in some 
grassland or meadow, or a hole at the foot of some 
old stump, for her little home. The nest is always 


B O B-W HITE 


5 


made on the ground, so is often in danger of many 
intruders and is frequently molested by a passing 
mower, scythe or even cattle tramping through a 
field. Ten to eighteen white eggs are laid, and put 
in the nest with their points downward, so closely 
are they packed that one cannot be taken without 
disturbing them all. No bird has a keener instinct 
than a quail, and they can tell when a nest has been 
tampered with and will desert it at the least touch. 

Sometimes even more eggs are laid, one summer 
a nest was found with thirty-six eggs in it. The 
fluffy little youngsters run after their parents, just 
as little chickens do after their mother. While the 
mother sits a second, and often a third time, the 
father takes all the children and teaches them how 
to search for food, escape enemies and all the other 
things that good little quail should know. 

When night comes the family, which often at the 
end of a season is made up of three or four dozen 
lusty growing youngsters, squat around in a circle 
with their faces outward. The father usually sits 
apart so as to be ready to warn his family when any 
approaching danger threatens. 

Who has not heard the clear, whistled notes of 
the quail as he joyously calls “bob-white, bob- 
white/' with the last syllable sharply accented. One 
who can imitate this whistle can keep a quail an¬ 
swering for a long time, and can even get them to 
come very near. 

Of this delightful bird Lucy Larcom has written: 


6 


Birds the Indians Knew 


A whole-souled little fellow, 

In speckled coat of brown, 

You heed not summer's passing 
Or skies that darkly frown; 

While other birds are quiet, 

Your call comes to delight, 

And that is why I like you 
Most of all, Bob White! 

The world has so much sorrow, 
We need your lively call; 

A soul to face all trouble, 

Ah, that's the best of all! 

The snow will soon be falling, 
Nor hill nor vale in sight; 

But I have learned your lesson 
In my heart, Bob White! 




BOBOLINK, OR ROBERT OF LINCOLN 

A SAD little story is told about the coming of 
the bobolink which contrasts strangely with 
the bright cheerfulness of these birds. The Indians 
tell of how one of their young warriors and his 
squaw quarreled over the blankets they had to wear. 
There was only one bright blanket in their wigwam, 
and as all Indians love bright colors both of them 
wanted to wear the blanket all the time, but after 
much quarreling the young man decided to let his 
bride wear it. 

All the time the warrior kept praying for the 
Great Spirit to send him something bright for 
himself. The Great Spirit seeing that he could teach 
a valuable lesson to his red children thought it 


7 











8 


Birds the Indians Knew 


would be wise to change these young people into 
another form, so he changed the squaw into a female 
bobolink with a very drab frock, and the warrior 
into the male bobolink with his beautiful coat. And 
strangely enough it seemed to make them both very 
happy, for there are few gayer birds than bobolinks. 

Bobolinks are about seven inches in length, being 
a bit larger than English sparrows, and are one of 
the most interesting of our wild birds. It was not 
long after the Americans first saw these birds that 
they enshrined them in their poetry and songs, and 
they were given their jingling names from their 
gay, sprightly imitation song of “bob-o’-link, bob-o’- 
link” uttered distinctly in quick succession. It was 
this note that William Cullen Bryant transformed 
slightly into Robert of Lincoln , which sounds like 
the title of an English Lord. 

There are few species of birds that have such 
striking contrast in the color of their sexes, nor do 
any other birds moult so often. In the spring the 
male wears a handsome suit, being about the only 
bird that is lighter above than below. He has mark¬ 
ings of buff and ashy white on the back of his head, 
shoulders, wings and back, and a light yellow patch 
on his neck resembles a handkerchief tied around 
his throat. The edges of his wings and tail feath¬ 
ers, which are pointed, are also yellow, while the 
rest is a shiny black. But in autumn his plumage 
changes to the color of his mate’s. 

Speaking about Mr. Bobolink’s coat, Bryant wrote 
in his beautiful poem: 


Bobolink, or Robert of Lincoln 9 

Robert of Lincoln is gaily dressed, 

Wearing a bright black wedding coat, 

White are his shoulders and white his crest. 

So surprising is his change of attire that on his re¬ 
turn to the rice fields of the south many of the 
planters think he is an entirely different bird from 
the one that went north in the spring. From this 
change the birds are known as ricebirds and reed- 
birds on their southward migrations. Mrs. Bobolink 
has a nearly sparrowish colored frock, being yellow¬ 
ish-brown above and paler beneath, with two dark 
stripes on her crown. Bryant writes this about her: 

Pretty and quiet with plain brown wings 
Passing at home a patient life. 

Bobolinks are close relatives to blackbirds and 
orioles, and are found from Labrador to Mexico and 
the West Indies. In North America they are found 
from Ohio to Nova Scotia, northward to Manitoba, 
and northwest to British Columbia. They winter 
in South America, reaching the coast line in this 
country about the last of April, just as the rice is 
sprouting. In their migrations they eat about ten 
per cent of the rice. They are the first birds to leave 
in the autumn, migrating even before the daintiest 
of warblers. Just as soon as the young are well on 
the wing they gather in flocks and move southward, 
reaching the rice fields just as the crop is in milk. 
There is nothing they seem to like better than rice. 
They ate large quantities of wild rice long before the 


10 


Birds the Indians Knew 


cultivated kind was introduced in this country. 

They eat so much and get so stuffed that they 
can hardly fly, and are slaughtered mercilessly. 
Because of their delicate flesh they are considered 
a great table delicacy and one buys them when 
dressed in the markets as ortolan. The birds that 
reach Cuba gorge themselves further on sorghum 
seeds, and here they are known as butterbirds, and 
are killed in great quantities for food. In the north 
the birds destroy great amounts of crickets, grass¬ 
hoppers, beetles, spiders and other harmful pests, 
and also eat the seeds of dandelions and various 
grasses, so they are looked upon with favor. 

They make their nests in a hollow in the ground, 
well hidden among tall grass, and the mother is so 
near the color of her surroundings that the home 
is not easily seen. Four to six dull white eggs are 
laid. They are heavily spotted with irregular mark¬ 
ings of lilac and brown and while Mrs. Bobolink sits 
her mate sways back and forth on some long blade 
of grass, singing to her. 

But he is a good watchman, and always warns 
her of an approaching intruder, so she is seldom 
flushed from her nest. At this time the male bobo¬ 
link utters the merriest frolic of a song that a bird 
ever sang, with all kinds of trills, kinks, twists, in¬ 
terludes and every imaginable sound mixed to¬ 
gether. It is loud, clear, strong and rich, full of 
unique whimsicalities and it makes one pause again 
and again in marvelous rapture. 

The alarm note of bobolinks is a harsh “chah, 


Bobolink, or Robert of Lincoln 11 

chah,” much like the cry of a blackbird. But no one 
can describe the sweet, wild repetition of the bobo¬ 
link’s song. 

Bryant in his poem about this bird has written: 

Merrily singing on brier and weed 
Near to the nest of the little dame, 

Over the mountain-side or mead, 

Robert of Lincoln is telling his name: 
Bob-o-link, bob-o-link 
Spink, spank, spink. 

Snug and safe in that nest of ours, 

Hidden among the summer flowers 
Chee, chee, chee. 

Alexander Wilson, the pioneer American ornithol¬ 
ogist, has this to say about his song: 

“He chants out such a jungling melody of short 
variable notes uttered with such seeming confusion 
and rapidity, and continued for a considerable time, 
that it appears as if half a dozen birds of different 
kinds were singing and warbling all together. 

“Some idea may be formed of this song by strik¬ 
ing the high keys of a pianoforte at random, singly 
and quickly, making as many sudden contrasts of 
high and low notes as possible. Many of the tones 
are in themselves charming, but they succeed each 
other so rapidly that the ear can hardly separate 
them. Nevertheless, the general effect is good, and 
when ten or twelve are all singing in the same tree, 
the concert is singularly pleasing.” 



BLUEBIRDS 

T HERE is a beautiful legend told about the blue¬ 
bird, which is quite as pretty as is this dainty 
bird. From their bright blue feathers most of us 
have associated bluebirds with the azure sky, and 
it is said that the first birds were made from a bit 
of the heavens. So they are especially dear to the 
spirit of the sky. 

An Indian legend relates that one day this little 
bird started out upon a long and venturesome jour¬ 
ney across the Great Waters, and at that time there 
were not any islands in this great body of water. 
By and by the poor little bird’s wings began to get 
tired and to droop, and he longed for a place to rest, 
but there was none. The water seethed and foamed 


12 





Bluebirds 


13 


everywhere, so the bird began to pray for a place to 
rest, and before him rose a reef. 

Thankfully he alighted on this rocky bit of land, 
but the waves rose higher and higher and nearly 
washed him away, so he asked for a higher reef. 
The reef grew higher. After resting, the bird flew 
on and once more becoming tired, asked for another 
place on which to rest. Another reef was sent, and 
so on and on till the bird reached the shore, and 
these islands remain in the ocean to this day. 

About no bird have more poems been written than 
about the gentle bluebird with its lovable ways and 
its endearing manners and its bright garments. It 
is always a welcome visitor in the northern states, 
being greeted as a harbinger of spring. 

As John Burroughs, the great ornithologist, has 
written: 


1 hear the bluebird’s plaintive 
From out the morning sky, 

Or see his wings a-twinkle 
That with the azure vie; 

No other bird more welcome, 

No more prophetic cry. 

Bluebirds measure from six and a half to seven 
inches in length, being just a bit larger than the 
English sparrows. They breed in the United States, 
west to Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, 
and north to Nova Scotia and Manitoba, and south 
to Mexico and Guatemala. They spend their win¬ 
ters with the boys and girls living in the Middle 


14 


Birds the Indians Knew 


States, southward to Bermuda and the West Indies. 
The azure bluebird is a subspecies with which the 
boys and girls living in the mountains of eastern 
Mexico and westward are familiar. It wears a paler 
garment than our eastern bluebird. 

Mr. Bluebird wears an upper coat, wings, and 
tail of bright blue, which is washed with crimson- 
brown in the autumn to make him less conspicuous. 
His throat, breast, and sides are a cinnamon red, 
while underneath he is white. Mrs. Bluebird, like 
so many other birds, wears a duller colored frock 
and is sprinkled with gray, and her breast is also 
paler than Mr. Bluebird’s. 

Bluebirds are very domestic in their habits and 
will readily build their little homes in boxes placed 
for them. If the boxes are not put out for them very 
early, the birds search for other nesting places. They 
usually choose a cavity in an old fence rail, or a hole 
in some tree. They prefer making their little homes 
in an orchard near buildings. The holes are lined 
with grasses, and three to six pale blue eggs are 
laid. Both birds carefully guard the nest. 

At first the baby bluebirds are very tiny and 
helpless, and have almost no clothing, but by and 
by they grow a suit of dark speckled feathers, look¬ 
ing like tiny little thrushes. It is not till the birds 
start to fly that they change their garments into 
their lovely colored suits, nor do their throats and 
breasts turn red before that time. Mr. Bluebird is 
a very devoted husband, although he lets his wife 
build the greater part of the nest. 


Bluebirds 


15 


Over half the bluebird’s food consists of insects, 
the largest item being grasshoppers, with beetles 
next and white caterpillars third. For the rent of 
the little homes given to them the birds pay amply 
in the destruction of these obnoxious and harmful 
insects, as well as in their song and attractive 
ways. Their vegetable food consists chiefly of fruit 
pulp, mostly of wild fruit, elderberries being their 
favorite. 

Nearly every one has heard of or been fortunate 
enough to hear the song of the bluebird, which is 
quite as sweet and gentle as is the bird itself. A 
short, sweet warble is the most common carol, while 
its song is made up of a continued warbling, sound¬ 
ing something like “tru-ally, tru-ally,” early in the 
spring, which changes more to a “tur-wee, tur-wee” 
note in the autumn. 

Thoreau, a great bird lover, wrote of the blue¬ 
bird’s song: “The bluebird comes, and with his 
warble drills the ice and sets free the rivers and 
ponds and frozen ground. His soft warble melts in 
the ear as the snow is melting in the valleys around. 
As the sand flows down the slopes a little way . . . 
so this little rill of melody flows a short way down 
the concave of the sky. . . The note of the first 
bluebird in the air answers to the purling rill of 
melted snow beneath.” 

In Hiawatha, Longfellow referred to this little 
blue air messenger as Owaissa: “In the thickets and 
the meadows, piped the bluebird, the Owaissa.” 

Eben E. Rexford has probably expressed most of 


16 


Birds the Indians Knew 


our opinions in regard to this bird’s glad song in 

his beautiful verse: 

Listen a moment, I pray you; what was the sound 
I heard? 

Wind in the budding branches, the ripple of the 
brooks, or a bird? 

Hear it again, above us! and see a flutter of wings! 

The bluebird knows it is April, and soars towards 
the sun and sings. 

Winged lute that we call a bluebird, you blend in 
a silvery strain 

The sound of the laughing water, the patter of 
spring's sweet rain; 

The voice of the winds, the sunshine, the fragrance 
of blossoming things; 

Ah, you are an April poem, that God has dowered 
with wings . 




P ERHAPS there are more legends told about the 
robin than about any other bird. This is an 
old legend that Indian fathers and mothers delight 
in telling their boys and girls. Far, far away in 
the Northland an old hunter and his son kept a 
light burning day and night. It was the one fire in 
that vast region, and they knew that if they let it 
go out all the people in the world would suffer. 

One day the old hunter became very ill and he 
commanded his son to keep the fire burning. “Don’t 
ever let it go out,” cautioned the father, “and be 
careful when the White Bear comes around so he 
does not put it out.” The boy promised that he 
would care for the fire. 


17 








18 


Birds the Indians Knew 


Day after day and night after night, the brave 
boy tended the fire and looked after the old man. 
But by and by the boy became very tired and worn 
out, so one day he fell asleep on the ground. The 
White Bear, who was hiding near by, waited till 
the fire somewhat subsided, for he did not like heat, 
and then he came stealthily from his hiding place. 
Crouching, he softly crept past the sleeping boy 
and nearer and nearer to the fire. When at last he 
reached the glowing embers he began stamping 
upon them with his great feet. He kept tramping 
about until he thought that not a spark of fire was 
left. 

In a nearby tree sat a little gray robin, for in the 
beginning it is said that all birds were gray, who 
was very sorry to see the fire going out. So down 
flew the little robin and searched until he found a 
tiny spark of fire, which he fanned and fanned with 
his wings. By and by the tiny spark became a blaze, 
and the flames danced higher and higher until they 
flared up and caught the robin’s breast. Just then 
the boy awoke and the robin flew away and wherever 
he touched the earth he brought fire to the people. 

The White Bear was very angry, for now he saw 
that instead of destroying the only fire in the world, 
it had been through him that many other people 
were given fires. And ever since the robin has worn 
a red breast where the dull gray feathers were 
burned. 

Another tribe of Indians tell the pathetic legend 
about the coming of the robin that Longfellow im- 


Legends and Robins 


19 


mortalized by referring to in his famous poem, Hia¬ 
watha. An aged Indian chief had a young son 
named Opeechee, whom he desired to have become 
the bravest and greatest warrior of his tribe. Be¬ 
fore any of the young Indian boys can become a 
warrior they must endure a long fast in order to 
test their strength and endurance. 

Opeechee was younger, and perhaps more delicate 
than any of the young men, but his great father 
thought it was time that his son should become a 
warrior. He built for him a little tent such as is 
built for the young men while they are fasting. For 
several days the boy lay in a trance in his little tent. 
After a number of days had passed he begged his 
father for food and drink. His father pleaded with 
him to go just a few days longer without eating or 
drinking, telling him he would be the greatest and 
bravest warrior of his tribe. Sighing, the boy lay 
down again. 

A few days later he once more begged his father 
for food and drink, telling him he was too young for 
such a terrible ordeal. He said he felt something 
evil would happen if he fasted any longer. But the 
father, believing it would make even a greater war¬ 
rior of his boy, asked him to wait just a few hours 
longer and then he would have fasted twelve days. 
This was more than any warrior had ever done be¬ 
fore. The father promised that in the morning he 
would bring his son the most tempting breakfast 
that he could prepare. He implored the boy to con¬ 
tinue the fast a few hours more. 


20 


Birds the Indians Knew 


The boy was too weak to plead and argue. He 
turned his face away, knowing he would live only 
a few hours longer. The next morning, happy and 
excited, the father rushed into the tent carrying a 
very tempting breakfast, but was astonished to find 
his son had arisen from the bed and was painting 
his breast a scarlet. The chief asked him why he 
was doing this, but the boy did not answer. A few 
moments later the father saw his son turn into a 
robin. 

In Austria they tell the boys and girls another 
beautiful tale of the coming of the robin. The people 
in Austria believe that the wreath of torture worn 
by Christ on the cross was made from hawthorne 
and blackthorn. When in bloom the hawthorne is 
so thickly covered with white blossoms that the 
thorns can scarcely be seen, but they make terrible 
wounds. As Christ was being carried to the cross, a 
little gray bird flew down and picked from his brow 
the thorn that was stabbing him. In doing this 
some of Christ’s blood fell on the breast of the bird 
which was a robin, and that is why the robin has 
worn a red breast ever since. 

No other bird is so generally known as is the robin. 
Of no other feathered creature have more beautiful 
poems been-written. The robin is as truly associated 
with the coming of spring as is the bluebird, crocus, 
and hepatica. Boys and girls living throughout 
North America, from Mexico to the Arctic regions, 
know this well-loved, happy bird. Robins winter 
throughout the United States, but most of them 


Legends and Robins 


21 


migrate to the southern states during the coldest 
months. Often they are back in their summer 
homes in the North by the latter part of February. 

The garb that the robin wears is well known. Its 
dull brownish-olive-gray coat above, its red breast, 
brownish tail and wing feathers, and its black and 
white streaked throat are recognized by every one. 
Mrs. Robin wears a duller gown than her husband, 
except in autumn, when they wear exactly the same 
colored clothes. Robins, like chickens, moult in Sep¬ 
tember. 

From the time that robins arrive in the spring, 
almost to the time that they leave in the autumn, 
they greet us with a happy song. What an exultant, 
care-free songster this bird is, and how its loud, 
cheery “Cheerily-cheerup, cheerily-cheerup” rings 
and echoes its joyousness. Few birds have such a 
varied repertoire of song. At nearly any hour of the 
day the robins may sing a different carol. It is hard 
for one to recognize all the notes that this talented 
bird sings. 

Robins make their homes of coarse grass, roots, 
and a few leaves, plastered together with mud and 
neatly lined with grasses. Both birds help in the 
making of their little home. It is a very substantial 
little house, although sometimes when it gets rain- 
soaked the mud plastering gives way and the walls 
will fall to the ground. The nest is placed in the 
forks of trees, on horizontal boughs, or any odd 
place around a friendly dwelling. Four or five bluish 
green eggs are laid. 


22 


Birds the Indians Knew 


Baby robins are sturdy little creatures, always 
clamoring for food. It is surprising what an im¬ 
mense number of worms and insects the little family 
consumes. It keeps both parents busy from early 
morning until late at night gathering food. 

At first the babies are covered with tiny yellow 
pin feathers, which quickly give place to dark-col¬ 
ored feathers. It is surprising how fast the young¬ 
sters grow. In about twelve days they are nearly as 
large as their parents, and in an astonishingly short 
time they are able to care for themselves. Two and 
three broods of robins are raised in a season. 







RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD 

T HIS is the legend that the Indian mothers and 
fathers tell their children about the coming of 
the red-winged blackbird. One day an Indian be¬ 
came so angry that he set the marshes on fire, 
because he wanted to burn the world. A little black¬ 
bird saw the fire, and flying up into a tree, kept 
singing, “Ku man wi cu! ku man wi cu!” meaning 
“the world is all going to burn.” Then the Indian 
got angrier than ever, and took a burning shell and 
threw it at the little bird. It fell on its wings, burn¬ 
ing them till they bled, and that is how the red¬ 
winged blackbird came by its flashing, colored 
wings. 

Red-winged blackbirds are a bit smaller than a 
23 
























24 


Birds the Indians Knew 


robin, and are found in eastern North America, 
ranging west along the Gulf Coast to Texas. They 
migrate from their southern homes in March, and 
usually return in October. The males always pre¬ 
cede the females northward, and for a week or two 
before they arrive, the tops of trees seem to be filled 
with chattering bachelors. They are very gay birds 
till the females arrive, and then they are busy, each 
trying to win a bride. By the first of May all have 
settled to the cares of home life. 

None of the North American blackbirds are more 
familiar than this species. They are also known as 
swamp blackbirds, red-winged orioles, and winged 
starlings. These names are given the bird because 
of its color, habits, and resemblance to other birds. 

Ponds and wet meadows seem to be the favorite 
haunts of these blackbirds, and there is scarcely 
such a place that does not have its family nest. In 
some places the red-winged blackbird is considered 
a harbinger of spring. 

It is Mr. Blackbird who wears the gorgeous colors. 
Most of his frock is coal black, not a dingy shade, 
but a bright, metallic black with lovely reflections 
and shades in it. His shoulders are a vivid scarlet- 
orange, edged with a contrasting yellow, which, 
against the black of his body, shines gorgeously, 
making him among our most handsome birds. But 
poor Mrs. Blackbird is forever dressed in a rusty, 
black gown, inconspicuously speckled with brown, 
with a yellowish-white breast, nor do her sons have 
bright clothes until they are quite grown up. 


R e d-W inged Blackbird 


25 


D. M. Mulock has given a good description of the 
blackbird in her short poem: 

A slender young blackbird built in a thorn tree; 

A spruce little fellow as ever could be; 

His bill was so yellow, his feathers so black, 

So long was his tail, and so glossy his back, 

That good Mrs. B., who sat hatching her eggs, 
And only just left them to stretch her poor legs, 
And pick for a minute the worm she preferred, 
Thought she never had seen such a beautiful 
bird. 

The small home is usually built at a low eleva¬ 
tion, in bushes or small trees in swamps, or around 
the edges of ponds. The nests are frequently made 
on hummocks in wet pastures too, where they are 
often destroyed by grazing cattle or wandering in¬ 
truders. The little home is made of grasses and 
rushes woven skilfully together and plastered with 
mud, and when placed in bushes is usually partly 
suspended from the rim. This gives it a swinging 
motion, which must be very soothing to the babies, 
and one cannot help wondering if the mother croons 
softly to her children as they sway back and forth. 
Three to five bluish-white eggs, scrawled with black 
on the ends, are laid. Father Blackbird is very proud 
of his wife and little home, and all the while he is 
trying to keep his nest from being found he almost 
leads one directly to it. 

The red-winged blackbird would be a beautiful 
singer if he did not so often interrupt his most 

3 


26 


Birds the Indians Knew 


melodious carols with harsh chattering. In the early 
spring the males, as they flit from alders to wil¬ 
lows and sit swaying back and forth on the lithe 
twigs, sing, “Ke, kog ker-ee, ke, kog ker-reee,” over 
and over again in a clear, joyous voice. But it is 
during their courting time that they sing the most 
and the sweetest and richest. Then their constant 
liquid notes of “o-ka-lee, o-ka-lee,” ring through the 
air. This song is chanted again and again to the 
mate of his choice, with much courtly bowing and 
vain spreading of his handsome tail. 

Blackbirds are among the most social and noisy 
birds we have, and especially in the autumn great 
flocks of them are often seen together on their 
southward migrations. Though the red-winged 
blackbirds eat some cultivated grain and fruit, they 
destroy so many harmful insects and worms that 
they deserve our fullest protection. 



KINGFISHER 


T HERE is an old, old story that is told of the 
birth of the kingfisher. There was once a beau¬ 
tiful princess whose name was Halycone who mar¬ 
ried the good Prince Ceyx. For a long time they 
lived happily together, but there came a time when 
Ceyx had to go on a long sea journey to visit a tem¬ 
ple in a far country. Halycone begged him not to 
go, and insisted that if he must go he should take 
her with him, but this he refused to do. Soon after 
he sailed there was a shipwreck, and the same night 
Halycone had a dream of the calamity. 

As soon as it was light the next morning Halycone 
hurried to the seashore and looked out on the seeth¬ 
ing waters. After a time she saw something dark 

27 













28 


Birds the Indians Knew 


being tossed about on the foaming waters, and soon 
the breakers washed the body of her husband to 
her. She leaped forward as if she would jump into 
the ocean, but a different fate was to be hers. As 
she jumped two strong wings shot from her shoul¬ 
ders, and before she realized it she was skimming 
over the water, transformed into a kingfisher. And 
when she touched her husband, he too was changed 
into a kingfisher. 

A tale is told by the tribes of Indians found in 
the Mississippi and Great Lakes basins of how the 
kingfisher was given its bill. Some of the old war¬ 
riors say that the kingfisher was always intended to 
be a water bird, but because he was not given web 
feet and a good bill when he first came he could not 
get enough to eat. So one day the animals held a 
great council and tried to decide what they could 
do to help him, and they gave him a long sharp awl¬ 
like bill. The fish gig they called it, which he was to 
use in spearing fish, and ever since he has been a 
good fisherman. 

But some warriors in other Indian tribes tell an¬ 
other legend. A blacksnake found the nest of a 
flicker, or yellowhammer, as the Indians call this 
handsome bird, in the hollow of a tree, and killed all 
her babies. The yellowhammer went to the Little 
People for help and they sent her the kingfisher. The 
kingfisher went at once, and after flying back and 
forth in front of the nest several times, thrust in 
his bill and pierced the blacksnake with a slender 
fish he was carrying in his bill. Therefore the Little 


Kingfisher 


29 


People said he would make good use of a spear so 
they gave him the long bill which he now carries. 

The belted kingfisher is from twelve to thirteen 
inches in length, and is found throughout the whole 
of North America, except where the Texas king¬ 
fisher ranges. The birds go as far north as the Arc¬ 
tic regions and may be easily recognized. They mi¬ 
grate in March and December, but except in their 
northern range they are usually winter residents. 

Kingfishers have several prominent characteris¬ 
tics by which they are readily distinguished, the 
most conspicuous being the flaring crest of the 
male, which reaches from his head to the nape of his 
neck. The crest resembles the feathered headdress 
of a distinguished Indian chief, and gives the bird a 
royal air. The conspicuous white spotted tail and 
wings are unmistakable, and the white spot in front 
of the eyes is another distinguishing mark. The bill 
is longer than the head, and is large and heavy, and 
well suited for the purposes of the kingfisher. And 
all kingfishers have the two outer toes joined for 
about half their length, which has been brought 
about from their habit of digging in sand banks to 
make their nests. It is thought that in years to 
come the other toes may probably be joined in the 
same manner giving the bird a perfect scoop. 

The male belted kingfishers have bluish-gray 
plumage, with bands of a deeper color, from which 
they were named. The females have chestnut- 
colored sides and breast bands in addition to the 
gray bands of the males. The feathers are always 


30 


Birds the Indians Knew 


oily, forming a good raincoat for the birds, and be¬ 
neath they have a warm robe of fleecy down. No 
wonder they seem to delight in the wet spray of 
some foaming breaker, or the mist so often found 
upon a body of water. 

The place to find kingfishers is along ponds, lakes, 
rivers, seasides, small creeks, in fact any place where 
plenty of small fish can be found, as their food con¬ 
sists entirely of fish. If you watch along these places 
you will see the birds sitting on some old dead limbs 
watching the water intently with their bright eyes, 
or maybe hovering close above a likely spot, and 
then in a moment diving down. A bit later they come 
up with a wiggling fish clamped tightly in their 
strong beak. Kingfishers swallow the fish whole, 
usually head first, and later eject all the undigest- 
ible parts without the least trouble. No boy was 
ever a better fisherman, and no little minnows, trout 
or other fish escape the keen fisher bird. 

The voice of the belted kingfisher is quite as 
strange as the bird itself, being a loud harsh rattle, 
that can easily be heard half a mile away on clear, 
quiet days. It may be because he is such a good 
fisher that the kingfisher was not given a beauti¬ 
ful voice. 

The nest is equally as strange as the bird’s un- 
melodious voice, and often the birds work for two 
or three weeks on their home. The nest is made at 
the end of a two or three foot tunnel made in the 
sand, usually near a good fishing spot. The tunnel 
ends in a large chamber where from five to eight 


Kingfisher 


31 


glossy white eggs are laid. While the mother is sit¬ 
ting Mr. Kingfisher brings her the choicest fish to 
eat, and later on both care for the active babies. At 
first the children are bare and skinny as cuckoos, 
but they eat so much that they grow rapidly. When 
their parents approach the nest they give a loud 
call, and all the babies scamper to the head of the 
tunnel. Much to the disappointment of the unfor¬ 
tunate ones, only one baby can be fed at a time, and 
so the rest have to hurry back to the nursery till 
the next time. 

The Texas kingfisher is the smallest member of 
this family found in this country, and is abundant 
in the southwestern border of the United States 
from southern Texas to Arizona. Their rattling cry 
is more shrill than that of the belted species, and 
the male adults have brownish-red breast bands, 
while the females have greenish ones. 




THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 

The woodpecker is hard at work, 

A carpenter is he; 

And you may hear him hammering 
His nest high up in a tree. 

A N old Indian legend says that years and years 
ago these woodpeckers had gray heads, just as 
their young now have for a time, given them so they 
would not so easily be seen by hunters. The vain 
woodpecker was not satisfied with his drab clothes, 
and noticing the Indians painting their faces in gay 
colors, the bird decided that he would try to do the 
same thing. 

A short time later he saw an Indian gather red 
32 











The Re d-H eaded Woodpecker 33 

berries and mash them, and then stand by a little 
pool of clear water and put the pulp on his face. 
The other Indians admired the painted warrior, and 
the woodpecker grew more dissatisfied than ever 
with his plain coat; so he quickly flew down to the 
pot of paint and closing his eyes ducked in his head. 
Then he looked into the water, and was surprised 
at the gorgeous brightness of his head, and decided 
to dye all his body. But before he could carry out 
his intention, the Indians had discovered him. Then 
he flew away to a tree, and was astonished and 
alarmed by a flying arrow which almost hit him. 

How was it that the warrior who had heretofore 
hunted for hours and hours without finding him 
when often he sat on a branch right over the hunt¬ 
er’s head, could now aim so accurately. Then the 
red-headed woodpecker realized that he had been 
given his drab coat for protection, and thought he 
would wash off the bright color, but it had become 
dry and he could not. Then he tried to beat it off 
by striking his bill against the trunks of trees, but 
it still stayed. So, cross and disappointed, he still 
flies about, pecking wood with all his might. 

Red-headed woodpeckers are not migratory birds, 
unless they cannot find sufficient food. In the lo¬ 
calities where they are migratory, they are familiar 
visitors in early spring, and may be seen at nearly 
any time of day, usually searching decayed limbs 
for larvae. They have very acute hearing, and seem 
to discover larvae by listening to them work. One 
will find that woodpeckers seldom make a mistake. 


34 


Birds the Indians Knew 


The red-headed woodpeckers are found in the 
United States east of the Rockies, breeding from 
the Gulf to New York and Minnesota. When they 
migrate, they winter in the southern part of this 
country. They are an inch or so shorter than robins, 
and an old fence post seems to be their favorite 
resting-place. All the woodpeckers have thrifty hab¬ 
its, and store food away for rainy days, just as do 
the squirrels. Red-headed woodpeckers are especial¬ 
ly fond of beechnuts and acorns, and they also con¬ 
sume many grasshoppers. They have stout, chisel¬ 
like bills, which enable them to bore in wood; and 
their long, extensile tongue has a horny tip on the 
end, which helps them to spear insects and draw 
them from the wood. 

The frocks of the male and female are the same, 
both having crimson head and neck, glossy black 
wings, tipped with pure white, as is the breast and 
lower under part, making a beautiful contrast to 
the bright colors. Their toes are peculiarly arranged, 
two turning forward and two backward, which 
makes them especially suited for tree climbing. 
Their tail feathers are stiff, which also helps them 
to climb. 

All woodpeckers have musical tastes, and like to 
beat tattoos on tin or hard wood. The red-headed 
woodpecker has several notes, but a loud whirring 
“chirr, chirr,” seems to be his favorite cry, though 
he often utters numerous other calls and imitations. 

The nest is usually built high in a tree, where it 
is seldom molested by cats or other marauders. The 


The Red-Headed Woodpecker 35 

little home is made in some empty hole, or else a 
circular hole is cut a few inches downward in some 
soft wood; there, without any lining in the nest, the 
eggs are laid. The woodpeckers do not believe in 
spending hours in building a home, as do so many 
other birds, yet they are excellent housekeepers, and 
always seem warm and comfortable. From four to 
six glossy white eggs, nearly globular in form, are 
laid in May and June. After the babies are hatched, 
if you notice, you will find that the parents beat the 
food into a jelly-like mass before feeding the young. 





THE DOWNY-HAIRED WOODPECKER 

T HE Indians tell a quaint legend about the com¬ 
ing of the lovable little downy-haired wood¬ 
pecker. There was once a curious woman so inquisi¬ 
tive that she wished to know everything, and could 
not leave anything without examining it. She was 
never happy till she had investigated every mystery. 
So one day the Great Father gathered together all 
the bugs, beetles, bees, grasshoppers, mosquitoes, 
ants, locusts, and other destructive and harmful in¬ 
sects and put them in a sack. The sack was tied 
shut and given to the woman. “Take it and throw 
it into the sea,” he commanded, “and do not look 
inside.” 

The woman took the sack and started on her jour- 
36 






















I— 

I 

m 

f 


OUT HOPPED ALL THE INSECTS AND BEETLES. 


































































































































The Downy-Haired Woodpecker 37 

ney, but with each step she took her curiosity in¬ 
creased. She kept wondering and wondering what 
could be inside the sack and decided that just as 
soon as people could not see her any more she would 
open it just a tiny way and peep inside. So when 
she came to a good place she stopped and untied 
the sack, then, holding it open just a tiny way, she 
began to peep inside, but out hopped all the insects 
and beetles. She tried vainly to gather them back, 
but they quickly hopped and flew away. 

The Great Father came to her and told her she 
must be punished for her disobedience, and he 
changed her into a downy-haired woodpecker. “Not 
till the last one of these insects and beetles is gob¬ 
bled up from the earth shall you return to your own 
shape and be a woman once more,” he informed 
her. With a rough “tut, tut,” the woman, now 
changed into the woodpecker, flew away, a restless 
creature darting after insects, and that is the rea¬ 
son we see this little bird pecking and searching 
for food. The woman is tired of being a bird, but 
she cannot return to her old shape until she picks 
up all the bugs and insects she let escape. 

Downy-haired is the smallest of the woodpecker 
family and is found in eastern North America from 
Labrador to Florida. Woodpeckers are found in all 
parts of the world, usually in abundance except 
in Australia and Madagascar. Downy-haired wood¬ 
peckers are residents throughout the year in locali¬ 
ties in which they are found. The toes of all species 
of woodpeckers are peculiarly arranged, two of them 


38 


Birds the Indians Knew 


being turned forward and two backward. Their stiff 
tail feathers adapt them to climbing and also help 
as a prop on which to steady themselves while bor¬ 
ing and searching for food. They have stout, chisel¬ 
like bills and long, extensile tongues with horny 
tips with which they spear insects and draw them 
out of the wood. 

Woodpeckers are hardy creatures and, like the 
chickadees, have a layer of fat beneath their skin 
which protects them even in the most severe 
weather. They never seem to be cold or weary, and 
though they lack the power to sing like the happy 
little chickadees, they seem quite as joyous. Downy 
woodpeckers are about the size of the common Eng¬ 
lish sparrow, averaging from six to seven inches in 
length. Mr. and Mrs. Downy-haired are almost 
dressed alike, being black above, striped with white. 
Their tail is wedge-shaped, and the outer feathers 
are white barred with black, while the middle feath¬ 
ers are entirely black. A black stripe crosses the 
head with a distinct white band above the eyes, 
which is quite noticeable. Mr. Downy-haired has a 
red patch at the nape of his neck that his wife and 
daughters do not have. Six white bands cross the 
wings, which are white underneath. Few birds are 
dressed more modestly, yet look so neat and attrac¬ 
tive. 

No birds are more useful in the orchard than the 
downy-haired woodpecker and his friend, the little 
chickadee. These woodpeckers keep up a continual 
search for insects, feeding on some of the worst foes 


The Downy-Haired Woodpecker 39 

of the orchard and woodland. About sixteen per 
cent of their diet is made up of caterpillars, which 
includes many harmful species. Grasshopper eggs 
are also freely eaten, and many other destructive 
larvae and insects. The vegetable food that they 
eat consists mostly of small wild fruit and seeds, 
and the only injury that this bird does is to spread 
the seeds of the poison oak or poison ivy. 

Like all woodpeckers, the downy-haired has been 
given no voice to sing, but occasionally he pauses 
in his busy work to utter a sharp “peenk, peenk,” 
which is often continued into a rattling cry, ending 
as abruptly as it began. But, like all his relatives, 
the downy-haired delights in beating a tattoo on 
some resonant limb, loose board, tin roof, or any¬ 
thing that will make a noise. Early in the spring 
one can see the downy-haired woodpecker busily 
pecking a tattoo in which he is drumming out his 
love song. Not only does he drum to win a mate, 
but also for a likely spot in which to chisel and to 
startle borers beneath the bark, so he may know 
just where to dig for them. The insects move with 
a sharp noise which his keen ears hear instantly. 

Nearly all species of woodpeckers prefer to live in 
woodland tracts, orchards, gardens, and places 
where there are plenty of trees which they may 
visit in searching for food. Downy-haired wood¬ 
peckers are too clever and too good architects not 
to provide a cozy nest for themselves in winter. The 
males and females part after the babies are large 
enough to care for themselves, and each lives alone 


40 


Birds the Indians Knew 


during the winter, deserting their nests in early 
spring when they have chosen a mate. Other birds 
are thankful to move into these deserted shelters. 
For the summer nest a few chips are placed in the 
bottom of another hole and four to six white eggs 
are laid. 




THE HAIRY WOODPECKER 

T HE Indians tell many quaint legends about the 
coming of the birds, and among them it is be¬ 
lieved that at the beginning of things the Great 
Spirit made the earth smooth. Some tribes of In¬ 
dians believe that one day as the Great Spirit was 
looking at the flock of newly made birds preening 
their pretty feathers He commanded them to use 
their beaks to hollow out basins for rivers, lakes, seas 
and so forth. With a great twittering and flutter¬ 
ing all the birds, except one, began to work, but the 
hairy woodpecker would take no part in helping the 
other birds. 

“Tut, tut!” she cried, as she sat on a branch and 
smoothed her mottled feathers and looked at her 


4 


41 














42 


Birds the Indians Knew 


dainty silver stockings. “You can work if you want 
to, but I am not going to do any such dirty work, 
for my clothes are too nice,” she retorted. 

The other birds kept working until they had all 
the basins for the rivers and lakes made, and all 
the seas and ponds and other water hollows made, 
and when the water began to splash and the earth 
became very beautiful the Great Spirit called the 
birds together and thanked them. He praised them 
for their good work and their zeal, but to the wood¬ 
pecker He said: “As your feathers are so nice and 
clean you must not have worked. How did you keep 
so nice and clean?” And the woodpecker answered 
that she was not going to work and soil her beauti¬ 
ful clothes. 

Then the Great Spirit told her, “Henceforth you 
shall wear stockings of sooty black instead of the 
shining silver ones of which you are so proud.” Then 
He went on to tell the little woodpecker that be¬ 
cause she would not dig in the earth she would have 
to dig in wood forever after for food, and because 
she would not help in making the water basins of 
the earth she could never drink from them. And 
the Great Spirit told her that all the water she 
could ever have to drink was the rain and the dew 
that fell on the leaves, and that is why the wood¬ 
pecker says “plui-plui-plui,” and when the bird re¬ 
peats that the Indians think she is calling for more 
rain. 

Hairy woodpeckers are found throughout the 
eastern part of the United States from Canada to 


The Hairy Woodpecker 


43 


North Carolina; while various sub-species are found 
in other parts of the country. The Northern hairy 
woodpecker, which inhabits British America and 
Alaska, is larger than the common eastern species. 
The Southern hairy woodpecker, which is found in 
the South Atlantic and Gulf States, is smaller and 
often has less white marks on the tail coverts. Boys 
and girls living west of the Rocky Mountains are 
familiar with other species. The Eastern hairy 
woodpecker averages about nine inches in length, 
and can be told from the downy woodpecker by its 
larger size, and it usually is more timid. 

These woodpeckers have the same mottled plum¬ 
age of gray and white that the downy woodpeckers 
have. Their modest and unassuming coats blend 
harmoniously with their colorless surroundings in 
winter, or with the various shades of green during 
the warmer seasons. Mr. Hairy Woodpecker has 
a red patch on the top of his head, just as does Mr. 
Downy Woodpecker, but both of their wives lack 
these adornments. Judging from their name one 
gets an idea that these woodpeckers are covered with 
hairs, but this is not so, for they only have a hairy 
streak down the middle of their broadly striped 
backs. Unlike the downy woodpecker their tail 
feathers are unspotted. 

Being a busy and skilful carpenter, and because 
they obtain most of their food from the trees, these 
woodpeckers like best to live in light woods filled 
with plenty of old trees. During the summer they 
usually live in heavy woods, where they nest, but 


44 Birds the Indians Knew 

in winter they can often be seen in trees about 
houses. Even in the larger cities they can often be 
found searching the crevices in trees for insects and 
larvae. 

Like all other members of the woodpecker family 
the hairy species are not noted for their song. They 
like to beat a tattoo on some dry limb that echoes. 
Sometimes they utter a sharp whistled sound that 
resembles “peenk, peenk,” though the Indians in¬ 
terpreted it as “plui-plui.” 

It is quite interesting to watch these active little 
creatures make their nests, which sometimes takes 
from a week to ten days. Both birds work in mak¬ 
ing the home, which is done by boring a hole 
straight into the tree for several inches and then 
downward in some tree in the deep woods. When 
both birds work hard they chisel out about two 
inches in a day, so we can imagine it is quite a task 
to build a large enough nursery for the little family. 
The parents do not believe in lining their little 
homes with feathers and other soft materials, and 
the three to six glossy white eggs are laid on chips. 
One is surprised to see how happy the babies are 
in their snug little home, which is really a good pro¬ 
tection against the weather and many marauders. 

Some farmers and fruit growers look upon these 
little striped creatures with suspicion as they see 
them clambering over the fruit trees and picking 
holes in the bark. But if they knew the real truth 
they would realize that the woodpeckers are among 
their best friends, and seldom ever leave any marks 


The Hairy Woodpecker 


45 


upon a healthy tree. The trees infested with larvae 
and insects they greatly benefit, getting to places 
where other birds cannot get—thus destroying in¬ 
sects and larvae that often would otherwise ruin a 
tree. 

Two-thirds to three-fourths of their food is made 
up of insects, chiefly noxious kinds which include 
the wood-boring beetles, with which many cater¬ 
pillars are associated. Next in order come the de¬ 
structive ants that live in decaying wood and which 
are very harmful to timber. Often a colony of the 
ants enter a little decayed place in a tree, and if not 
destroyed, will honeycomb the whole tree so it is 
useless. But the bright eyes of these little wood¬ 
peckers often spy them, and with their long tongues 
draw them out and gobble them up! 






THE FLICKER 

S OME tribes of Indians tell a quaint story about 
how the flicker came to get its sharp tail. Once 
upon a time the world turned over and the waters 
rose so high that many people died. A squaw and 
her two children climbed into a tall tree, hoping 
that this would save them from being drowned, and 
there they sat waiting hour after hour for the waters 
to sink. Soon a red-headed buzzard came flying past 
and the squaw cried, “Help me and I will give you 
one of my children,” but the great bird laughed and 
passed on. By and by a flicker came along and the 
squaw cried again, “Oh, help me and I will give you 
one of my children.” So the flicker helped her to a 
place of safety, hanging to the clouds with its claws, 

46 















The Flicker 


47 


but its tail was under water. And that is the reason 
why flickers have had sharp tails ever since. 

The flicker is the largest and most common of our 
five woodpeckers, and is found in abundance in the 
eastern part of the United States, and in Alaska, 
most parts of Canada and on southward, and oc¬ 
casionally on the Pacific Slope. They are permanent 
residents in most parts of their range, except in 
Canada, from which country they migrate to the 
United States in October and go back in April. None 
of our birds have more nicknames than the flicker, 
which rather odd name was given these birds from 
their queer loud note which resembles that word. 
The birds are called high-holes and high-holders 
from the position of their nests in tall trees, golden¬ 
winged woodpeckers from their color, and yellow- 
hammers for the same reason. Because of their dis¬ 
tant resemblance to pigeons and their habit of 
feeding much on the ground they are called pigeon 
woodpeckers, and from one of their odd calls they 
are called yarups. Thus in different localities the 
birds are variously named for their habits, color, 
flight, and noises. 

These birds measure from twelve to thirteen 
inches and are among our most handsomely gowned 
birds. The top of their heads and their necks are 
a bluish-gray, and they have a bright red crescent 
on their breasts, while Mr. Flicker has black cheek 
patches that look like a moustache. Above they are 
golden-brown, shading into brownish-gray and 
modishly barred with black, while underneath they 


48 


Birds the Indians Knew 


are chocolate milky spotted with black. When in 
flight and looked at from beneath they have a yel¬ 
low appearance, but while feeding on the ground the 
birds look almost brown, shading into their sur¬ 
roundings. They have a tiny white patch on their 
backs above their tails, which is never noticed ex¬ 
cept in flight and is then quite conspicuous. 

Flickers like best to live in the woods, orchards 
and trees along roadsides and delight in feeding on 
the ground, especially in the autumn when they can 
find many seeds and insects. Ants seem to be their 
favorite diet and over three thousand have been 
found in a stomach for a single meal. Wild fruit 
seems to come next to ants in the bird’s diet, and 
they are especially fond of sour gum and wild black 
cherries. They are nearly as fond of acorns as are 
the frisky squirrels, and their long, slender curved 
bills are more like pickaxes than hammers. They 
have long, round, extensile tongues covered with a 
sticky mass which enables them to spear ants and 
other insects with great skill. 

Like all the members of the woodpecker family 
the flickers have not been given a beautiful song. 
They have various calls and noises, and even though 
some of them are rather coarse and harsh-sound¬ 
ing still they are often welcome sounds during the 
stormy winter months. In spring they utter a 
loud, long sonorous call, jubilant as a hearty 
laugh, that sounds like “Wicky-wick-wick-wick,” 
which is followed quickly by a more musical “cuh, 
cuh, cuh.” During the nesting season they have a 


The Flicker 


49 


tattoo call, and in autumn a nasal “Ker-yer, ker- 
yer, ker-yer,” is their most frequent note. When a 
flock is feeding together they may be heard to re¬ 
peat a “yar-up, yar-up” sound. 

Few birds live in more perfect harmony with other 
feathered creatures than do the flickers, and they 
are never heard quarreling among themselves either. 
Mr. Flicker is a dandy when he goes a-courting, and 
spreads out his tail in quite a wonderful way. 

Flickers use the deserted holes of other woodpeck¬ 
ers for their nests. Five to ten white eggs are laid, 
and the babies only remain about eight days in 
their tiny cradles. The parents feed their children 
like pigeons, hummingbirds and several other spe¬ 
cies of birds do, that is, by pumping partly digested 
food into their tiny throats. At first the young birds 
wear almost a black coat, but by and by their gar¬ 
ments change and they are permitted to wear the 
gorgeous frocks worn by the older birds. After they 
are eight or ten days old the children usually make 
their own living, and often do not return home 
again. 





THE PURPLE FINCH 

S OME of the Indian tribes tell a story about the 
origin of the purple finch, which is not generally 
known. One day in early summer the Indians gath¬ 
ered a great many ripe wild raspberries, intending 
to press out the juice and serve it at a war dance 
they were having that night. After gathering the 
berries the Indians proceeded to mash them into 
juice, and taking the vessel containing the liquid 
they placed it in the woods to cool. By and by a 
sparrow-like bird came along and being curious took 
a look into the vessel, but that didn’t seem to suit 
him, and the next minute he fluttered down into 
the juice. In a little while he came out dyed a rasp¬ 
berry-red, and when the sun dried his feathers he 

50 











The Purple Finch 


51 


was the color the male purple finches are now. For¬ 
tunately the Indians did not discover the bird in his 
trick, as they did the red-headed woodpecker, and 
only knew of the mischief that had been done when 
they came for the juice. 

Until they are two years old the male purple 
finches are sparrow-like in appearance, just like the 
females, having a gray-brown coat, with lighter and 
darker shades on the chin, breast and lower back. 
But at all times these birds may be distinguished 
from the sparrows by their stout, conical bills, which 
are built for seed crushing. Clad in these somber 
shades they are well protected in surroundings of 
grass and weeds so they can feed undisturbed. Mabel 
Osgood Wright in her sketch about the purple finch 
says, “The Purple Finch, which, as I have said, is 
not purple, but, when in full plumage, washed with 
a rich raspberry-red, deepest on breast, crown and 
rump, light breast, brownish back, wings and tail, 
is one of the notable members of the family.” 

These little air creatures measure from six to six 
and one-fourth inches in length, and their heavy 
round bill makes them look something like gros¬ 
beaks. They have a habit of bristling their little 
crowns which makes them resemble cardinals, and 
from their call note and way of flying in scattered 
flocks they resemble the crossbill. But the purple 
finches have an individuality of their own, and it 
is rather strange that this common bird is not bet¬ 
ter known. 

Purple finches are found in North America from 


52 


Birds the Indians Knew 


the Columbia River, east to the Atlantic Ocean, and 
from Mexico northward to Manitoba, being the 
most common in the Middle and New England 
states. The nesting season is spent from Minnesota 
and the middle states, northward, and they winter 
from the northern states southward. 

These birds are not overly particular where they 
build their nests, being as much at home in brushy 
woodlands as in an orchard or garden. But they 
seem to prefer the evergreen trees. The little home 
is made of strips of bark, twigs, grasses, rootlets 
and other soft material and built at any distance 
from the ground. Three or four greenish-blue eggs 
with blackish specks are laid. Years ago the nests 
of these birds were often robbed of their babies, 
which were taken and sold as cage birds, being well 
adapted for their cruel prison life because of their 
seed-eating diet. 

Purple finches can find enough food at any time 
of the year from the seeds of weeds in fields and 
along waysides. Tree buds and wild fruits are also 
relished in their season, but the finches can live 
without them, and can readily eat hard-shelled 
seeds which other birds cannot break open. Like a 
flock of goldfinches, these little birds wander about 
in hemlock and spruce trees and in the orchards, 
searching for food. 

A sudden outburst of song in March announces 
the purple finch’s musical concert for the season, 
which gradually grows to a subdued hum by Oc¬ 
tober. These birds have the finest voices of any spe- 


The Purple Finch 


53 


cies belonging to the great sparrow fa mil y, and 
when in love the song reaches its highest ecstasy. 
Like the yellow-breasted chat Mr. Purple Finch 
mounts fifteen or twenty feet above his bride, and 
keeps gradually coming down, singing a loud, long 
continued sweet warble, till he drops exhausted by 
the side of his mate. Such delight, such joy, such 
happiness is expressed in the songs of few other 
birds, and every syllable is filled with a melody that 
makes one marvel at its beauty. The call note of 
this family is a querulous whistle, quite unlike the 
entrancing song uttered so freely. 






WILD OR PASSENGER PIGEONS 

T HE Chitimacha Indians tell their boys and girls 
a rather strange tale of how the wild pigeon 
came to be. Once six adventurous Indians, who 
were very strong and brave, started on a long jour¬ 
ney to find a strange country which they spoke of 
as the Sky-Land. They kept going and going until 
they came to the place where the sky and the hori¬ 
zon met, which they called the “Jumping-off-Place.” 
As the men stood staring at the wonderful view 
before them the sky came down and shut them from 
the earth. At first the brave warriors were fright¬ 
ened, and then as they looked about them and saw 
so many strange things they were delighted that 
they could wander in such a fantastic region. 

54 



















Wild or Passenger Pigeons 55 

So for a long time they traveled about and at 
last they came to the lodge of Kutonakin, the ruler 
of Sky-Land. Because they were weary of wander¬ 
ing and wanted to return to earth they asked 
Kutonakin how they could get back to their own 
people. “You cannot get back there in the form 
that you now are,” explained the aged ruler, “for 
it is many miles from here to the earth, but if each 
of you will promise to do something to help man to 
become better able to take care of himself and oth¬ 
ers and do something for the world I will change 
you into birds and you can return whence you 
came.” 

Each of the Indians promised faithfully that 
he would do all in his power to help the people 
on earth if they were only permitted to return, and 
the sixth man was changed into a pigeon and prom¬ 
ised to teach the Indians how to use wild maize. 

Audubon, the great bird student, stated that 
when he was wandering through the country great 
flocks of pigeons darkened the skies, but now very 
few wild pigeons are left in any part of the country. 
The turtle dove, with its familiar, haunting “coo-coo- 
c-o-o,” being the only representative left of this once 
abundant family of trusting, confiding birds. Once 
these birds made this country the sportsman’s para¬ 
dise, but unlimited netting, even in the nesting sea¬ 
son, has been the cause of this terrible destruction. 
As early as 1892, Captain Bendire said, “The exter¬ 
mination of the passenger pigeon has progressed so 
rapidly during the past twenty years that it looks 


56 Birds the Indians Knew 

now as if their total extermination might be accom¬ 
plished within the present century.” But no one 
paid any heed to him. 

The wild or passenger pigeons belong to a group 
of birds consisting of many species, and were at one 
time found in all parts of the world. They vary 
widely in habits and color, some living in trees while 
others make their nests on the ground; some live in 
great colonies while others prefer living in isolated 
pairs. The members of the pigeon family living in 
the Far East and the tropics are more brilliantly col¬ 
ored than those found in other parts of the world. 
Wild pigeons are like eagles in choosing mates, and 
when their choice is made will remain mated for life. 
It has been proved that often when one of the mates 
dies the other refuses to eat and so grieves its life 
away. Brothers and sisters raised in captivity will 
often mate, and if one of them happens to die be¬ 
fore they are grown the other will often die from 
sorrow. The rock 'pigeon, believed to be the ancestor 
of all the domestic varieties, is the most interesting 
member of this family in the Eastern hemisphere. 

Pigeons have been domesticated from early times 
and frequent mention is made of them in ancient 
literature. Primitive people regarded them with 
great affection, even as every bird lover does now, 
and one of the indications of wealth was the num¬ 
ber of dovecotes a man possessed. Pigeons and turtle 
doves are frequently mentioned in the Bible, but 
usually in connection with sacrifice, as in the case 
of the parents of Jesus. 


Wild or Passenger Pigeons 57 

And to offer a sacrifice according to that which 
is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves, 
or two young pigeons.” 

The poor were allowed to bring the birds instead 
of a lamb. The first known law for bird protection 
in regard to pigeons is apparently found in Deuter¬ 
onomy. “If a bird’s nest chance to be before thee 
in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether 
they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting 
upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not 
take the dam with the young.” 

The passenger or wild pigeon is from sixteen to 
twenty-five inches in length. The upper parts of 
the male are bluish-slate color shading into olive- 
gray, and on the back and sides of the head having 
metallic shades of gold, violet and greenish hues, 
blending beautifully into one another with an irides¬ 
cent sheen. The red eyes and black feet are very 
conspicuous, and the pigeons seem to be proud of 
them. Mrs. Wild Pigeon wears a duller frock washed 
with olive-brown, and it is less iridescent than her 
mate’s. 

The few wild pigeons still found in this country 
are residents of eastern North America, and nest 
chiefly among the northern borders of this country 
as far north as Manitoba and northward of Hudson 
Bay. Of late years they have been chiefly transient 
visitors in the United States and are rarely seen. 
Their home is a rickety platform of sticks thrown 
loosely together, often on the top of an abandoned 
robin’s or other bird’s nest. The home is very poorly 

5 


58 


Birds the Indians Knew 


built and standing beneath it one can often see the 
sky, but somehow or other the babies usually man¬ 
age to stay in it and thrive. One, sometimes two 
white eggs are laid and the birds take turns about 
sitting on them for five weeks. At first the babies 
are fed a milky substance from the beaks of their 
parents. 

The habits of the band-tailed or white-collared 
pigeon are exactly the same as those of the wild or 
passenger pigeon, but they differ in color. These 
birds are found in the western United States from 
British Columbia to Mexico and are found chiefly 
in the mountainous regions, where a few have es¬ 
caped the destructive hand of man. Acorns are their 
favorite food, therefore they prefer living where 
these can be found in the greatest abundance. 

Mr. Band-Tail has a head, neck and underparts 
of a purplish-wine-red, fading to a duller color be¬ 
neath, with a distinct half-white collar around his 
neck, hence one of his names. In other parts of his 
body are found exquisite shades and his feet and 
bill are very yellow, while his bluish tail is crossed 
in the middle by a conspicuous black bar, therefore 
the other name by which the birds are known. Mrs. 
Band-Tail is much more modest colored, but she is 
quite as proud and happy as her gentle husband. 


THE TERNS 


T HIS is the legend that the Indians tell about 
the coming of the tern. Dancing Bear, a young 
Indian lad, had just learned how to paddle a canoe 
and he was very proud of his achievement. He was 
really a clever rower, but he did not have the 
strength of a full-grown warrior and therefore his 
parents warned him not to go on the water when 
the wind was blowing or the sky looked stormy. But 
one day, when the skies were very dark and a heavy 
wind was already blowing, Dancing Bear wanted 
to go out to the island and hunt. 

The island was a long distance from the shore, 
and Dancing Bear knew his parents would not give 
him permission to go so he stole away in his canoe. 

59 











60 


Birds the Indians Knew 


He had not gone far before it started to rain and 
the wind blew harder than ever. At first Dancing 
Bear laughed, and kept saying to himself, “ O wind, 
I am stronger than you are,” and he would laugh 
with joy as the great waves came beating against 
his frail canoe and splashed over him. By and by 
even his inexperienced eyes saw he was in great 
danger. 

Then the scared little Indian boy tried to paddle 
with all his strength, but it was of no use, and finally 
the canoe was upset and Dancing Bear was drowned. 
Soon a noisy bird arose from the water in the very 
place that Dancing Bear had gone down, and that 
is why the Indians think terns have webbed feet 
and have such extraordinary endurance in flight. 

There are fifty or more species of terns found in 
all parts of the world, but only ten of them are na¬ 
tives of North America. They are related to the gulls 
and all have long pointed bills, webbed feet and 
large pointed wings which carry them swiftly long 
distances. All the species are wonderfully expert in 
flight and make long journeys. These birds are often 
called sea swallows, because of their marvelous fly¬ 
ing qualities, or strikers, because of their habit of 
plunging for food, especially fish. It is quite comi¬ 
cal to see the bird diving, almost head foremost, in 
quest of creatures in the water. 

The black tern measures about ten inches in 
length, and breeds from California to Colorado, Mis¬ 
souri and Ohio, northward to north central Canada. 
They winter in Mexico and South America. It is 


The Terns 


61 


the only dark tern found inland and received the 
name from the fact that it is nearly all black during 
the breeding season, except a white spot under the 
throat. At other times the birds are grayish-white. 

Unlike most of their relatives the black terns 
spend the greater part of their time on the fresh wa¬ 
ter lakes and marshes of the interior, and are fre¬ 
quently called the car swallow. They build their little 
home among the tules and weeds along shores, and 
sometimes on muskrat houses or bits of floating 
vegetation. Two or four eggs are laid. The food of 
this bird is more varied than that of any other tern, 
and they consume immense quantities of dragon¬ 
flies, Mayflies, grasshoppers, beetles of various kinds, 
crawfishes and other harmful insects. They catch 
many flies as they flit about, and the only fish they 
eat are of no economic value such as minnows and 
mummichogs. 

The Caspian, or great tern, is the largest member 
of this interesting family, measuring nearly two 
feet in length. They have handsome crests, crim¬ 
son feet and bills and pearl-gray back and wings. 
Like the other terns, great colonies of them may be 
found on islands during the nesting season. 

The smallest bird in this family is the lesser or 
least tern, which is only nine inches in length. It 
has a yellow bill, and from the eyes to the back is a 
black line, which readily distinguishes it from any 
other species. The common tern was once abundant 
along the eastern coast of North America, but on 
account of its handsome plumes was hunted so 


62 


Birds the Indians Knew 


much that it has become almost extinct. They are 
now protected by the law, and here and there may 
still be seen in their handsome pearl-gray cloak with 
white tail and head. They lay three to four eggs, 
which vary in color from white to brown, thickly 
speckled with brownish-lavender spots. 

The striated tern, found in New Zealand, is the 
most novel and striking of this family of birds. They 
are about thirteen inches in length and have a black 
bill. They wear a mottled suit striped with black 
and white, and in their modest plumage are quite 
unlike any other tropical bird. 






THE OVEN BIRD 

I NDIAN children are taught to obey even better 
than some of their little white brothers and 
sisters. Indian parents tell their children a strange 
legend of how a little white girl, who did not mind 
her teacher, was changed into the sombre-colored 
oven-bird. Years and years ago, when this country 
still was a vast wilderness, there were very few 
schools and they were far apart. 

One afternoon when the teacher and some of her 
pupils were coming home from school, a little girl 
with an orange-brown dress trimmed with black 
and white, started down a narrow path among some 
trees. The little girl had always minded the teacher 
before, but this time when she called she would not 


63 














64 


Birds the Indians Knew 


come back, and seeing her disobedient the other 
children followed her, but soon they all came back. 
When the little girl did not come back that night 
the whole settlement went out to hunt for her, and 
the nearby Indians helped in the search, but she 
could not be found. Day after day for two weeks 
they hunted for the missing child, and then one of 
the young warriors found an orange-brown bird, 
and knew the Great Spirit had changed the girl into 
this strange new bird, then known as the oven-bird. 

Oven-birds measure six inches in length, being 
about the size of an English sparrow, and are found 
most usually in the open woods. They are ground 
birds and hop about on the ground, scratching in 
a heap of dry leaves just like the barnyard fowls. 
They scarcely ever, except when scolding an intrud¬ 
er, mount to even the lower branches of a tree. The 
crown of the bird is orange-brown, bordered with 
black, resembling a hood, and they have no white 
markings on their wings or tails as do so many other 
birds. There is an olive or dull orange V-shaped 
patch on the back of their heads, which is probably 
the brightest spot in their dull garments. The breast 
is,spotted and streaked on the sides, and underneath 
they are a dull white, so all the colors blend har¬ 
moniously and nearly match the brown surround¬ 
ings they frequent most generally. 

“To me the oven-bird always seems the most dis¬ 
embodied symbol of the woodlands,” says W. Pack¬ 
ard, secretary of the Audubon Society. 

These little birds are inhabitants of North 


The Oven Bird 


65 


America, breeding in the northern half of the 
United States and northward to Labrador. Unlike 
so many species of birds which are found only east 
of the Rockies, these strange little creatures are 
found from the Atlantic to the Pacific slope. They 
spend their winters in the United States, migrating 
farther north in May and returning in October. 
They are members of the warbler family and are 
often called golden-crowned water-thrush, from the 
resemblance to a small thrush. 

It is from their arched, oven-like nests that these 
birds received their queer name. Their nest looks 
like the “outdoor oven of the forefathers of the Re¬ 
public,” wrote Mr. Packard. The arched nest is made 
on the ground among leaves or pine needles, and is 
seldom ever found. Leaves, strips of bark and other 
material are used to make the inside of the nest, 
being cemented together with clay, while the grass 
is arched over to form the top, a small opening be¬ 
ing left for the door. It sometimes takes several 
months to build the odd home. Four to six white 
eggs, spotted reddish-brown, are laid. Usually the 
parent birds can be found very near the nest, 
scratching about in the leaves for insects and larvae, 
as they live wholly on this diet. 

Oven-birds have probably the prettiest and dain¬ 
tiest walk of any of our birds, and as they step along 
they nod their tiny heads, resembling smart French 
ladies. Perhaps they were given this coquettish way 
of walking because they lack a graceful flight. They 
are very timid little creatures, and at the first sus- 


66 


Birds the Indians Knew 


picion of danger become nearly limp with fear. It 
is pitiful to see the mother bird dragging her tail 
and shaking all over with fright. 

Their song resembles a thrush-like warble and is 
usually uttered from the dark shadows of the woods. 
Most bird lovers think that the song has a resem¬ 
blance to the word teacher , repeated five or six 
times, and ascending in strength and volume with 
each syllable. The first “teacher” uttered is quite 
soft and clear, the second is more penetrating, the 
third resounds still louder and the last one sounds 
like a reverberating crescendo. If this song is heard 
once, it will never be forgotten, and one readily sees 
why this bird is so often called the teacher bird. 
Then a clear, wonderful melodious carol ripples from 
the throats of these birds as they flutter high among 
the tree tops, with their heads hanging downward. 

Mr. Packard says that to him the song of the bird 
sounds like “kerchuck, kerchuck,” instead of “teach¬ 
er, teacher,” with the accent on the last syllable. 
About another song of this bird he writes: “Not 
so many know the evensong of this little drab bird 
with the orange crown and the lustrous speaking 
eyes. It is heard most often at dark, sometimes of 
a moon-flooded night or in the gray of dawn, a brief, 
bubbling melody poured from the full throat of the 
bird as he flutters skyward in the ecstatic joy of 
living. The song suggests that of the bobolink and 
skylark. It is the flight song of the oven-bird.” 

A South American bird which builds a dome¬ 
shaped nest of mud is also called by this name. 



THE ROAD RUNNER 

T HE Indians tell this legend about the road run¬ 
ner, a rather queer bird found in the western 
and southern states. Once there was a tribe of In¬ 
dians who alone knew the use of fire, having ob¬ 
tained it from the top of a very rocky mountain. 
They guarded all the passes up the mountain 
against invaders, and no one had been able to get 
to the sacred altar where the fire was kept. Tribe 
after tribe of Indians made attempts to get the fire, 
all without success, and at last one chief decided he 
would get the road runner to help him. 

The swiftly running gray bird passed all the In¬ 
dians on guard, without awakening any suspicion 
as to his mission, and at last reached the top of the 

67 










68 


Birds the Indians Knew 


great mountain. He went to the sacred altar and 
snatched a burning brand from it and started back 
down the steep mountain. But as he ran, the fire 
burning brightly, cast out a glowing light which 
was seen by the Indian guards, and the whole tribe 
was informed that their treasure was being stolen. 

Every warrior started in pursuit, but the bird ran 
as he never had done before. Finally when he saw 
that the Indians would capture him he dropped the 
blazing fire in the grass between him and his pur¬ 
suers. It flamed up and soon all the space between 
the Indians and the bird was blazing. The Indians 
supposing that the bird had been consumed in the 
burning grass went peacefully back to their village. 
But the bird had outrun the fire he had started, and 
still kept one tiny flame of fire which he hid in the 
feathers of his crest. He still carries a red feather 
there to show where the fire was hidden. 

Probably the road runner is the fastest running 
bird that lives, but it is a very poor and awkward 
flyer. The bird received its rather queer name from 
one of its fantastic habits of running down the road 
ahead of horsemen and vehicles. In some localities 
it is known as chapparal cock, also ground robin, 
from the fact that it somewhat remotely resembles 
a robin and spends so much of its time on the 
ground. Another popular name for this strange bird 
is snake killer, as it has a great antipathy to snakes, 
killing all it sees. They are especially savage in their 
attacks on snakes, and will fight like a prize fighter 
always trying to get in the last blow. 


The Road Runner 


69 


Road runners are members of the cuckoo family 
and are quite common in the southwestern United 
States from northern California to Colorado, Kan¬ 
sas, Texas and southward. Their food is made up 
of grain and insects. 

The birds wear a glossy greenish-brown coat, each 
feather being fringed with white. Their legs are 
long and strong, and their four toes are placed so 
two turn to the front and two to the back. They 
have long broad tails with graduated feathers, which 
they lower or raise at will, holding them quite as 
coquettishly as any wren does. When running they 
spread their wings and tail in a sort of aeroplane 
shape and travel along at an amazing rate of speed. 
The birds themselves measure about a foot in 
length. 

Road runners have been denied a brilliant song, 
and the only noise they make is a low twittering 
sound and clucking notes. The nest is a very poor 
and rude structure, usually placed in low trees or 
bushes. It is made of a platform of sticks, thrown 
roughly together on some inviting twigs. Sometimes 
in April or May four to ten white eggs are laid. 
These are not laid every day as most birds deposit 
their eggs, but at intervals of from one to three 
days. The babies are strange, queer-looking little 
fellows, and it is scarcely any time till they spread 
their little tails and wings and go traveling down 
the road. 


THE REDPOLL LINNET 


Rose-touched, are the crowns, with tints like 
Lights upon a winter’s snow field. 

Rosy are their caps as morning 

When the storm clouds gather eastward. 

Happy are they, hearts and voices, 

Happy are the fields and forests, 

When their merry notes come jingling, 
Sleighbell like, from upper ether, 

Happy is the red-cheeked farmer 
When they gather by his barnyard. 

—Frank Bolles 


O NE of the northern tribes of Indians tells a 
pretty little story about the redpoll linnet, the 
bird that for some queer reason seems to love the 


70 








The Redpoll Linnet 


71 


cold bitter winds of the Arctic regions better than 
the milder breezes of warmer climates. All Indians 
admit that they are very fond of bright colors and 
trinkets, and nothing seems to please them better 
than gorgeous shades of red, orange, yellow and 
other vivid colors. Taquo was a little Indian girl, 
whose family were very poor, and so whenever her 
mother made a specially nice blanket of bright col ¬ 
ors, and was offered a good price for it, she sold it, 
and so the little girl always had to wear dull colored 
blankets. 

Day after day Taquo longed for something bright 
and pretty as the other young girls in the tribe had, 
but though she asked the Great Spirit again and 
again it seemed the time would never come when 
she could have pretty things. Her mother and father 
comforted her and told her that some day she 
should have just as pretty things as any of her com¬ 
panions, and so Taquo tried hard to hide her sor¬ 
row from them. 

One day Taquo found a bit of bright red cloth 
and she cried in glee. Surely the piece, which 
looked so large to her bright eyes, was large enough 
when a little border was added, for a shawl. 

“Such a shawl I shall have!” she exclaimed. “Such 
a shawl as no other girl has ever had.” But when 
she brought it to her mother, her mother shook her 
head sadly and told her it was not big enough. “Not 
even with a border?” asked Taquo half eagerly yet. 
But her mother kept shaking her head, and Taquo 
knew that her mother knew more about the making 


72 


Birds the Indians Knew 


of shawls than any other squaw in the tribe. 

Taquo took the bit of brilliant cloth and crept 
to the nearby woods, and there she lay down with 
the cloth beneath her head, and cried and cried and 
prayed. She asked the Great Spirit either to send 
her more cloth so she could have a bright shawl, 
or else to make her smaller so this bit would be 
enough. By and by Taquo felt her prayer was be¬ 
ing answered, for everything about her seemed to 
change, and soon the little girl had been trans¬ 
formed into a redpoll linnet. The bright red cloth 
had been used as a covering for her head and breast, 
and so happy was she in her bright colors that she 
has been singing sweetly ever since, even in the 
coldest days. 

The plumage of these little birds varies greatly in 
color with the seasons and age of the bird, which 
causes it to be called at different times by various 
other names, as gray linnet and red linnet. In s um - 
mer Mr. Redpoll wears a brown coat, with forehead, 
throat and breast of crimson, while his wife is much 
duller. At other times the male wears a brown coat 
above, dusky white vest, a rosy breast and a bright 
red cap. 

Mrs. Redpoll is always dressed in more somber 
colors and is never as lively as her good-natured 
mate, though she has just as sweet a temper and 
is just as patient. But, as in many other bird fam¬ 
ilies, usually most of the cares and worries descend 
upon her. All the members of this family are 
friendly little creatures with lively, gentle disposi- 



SHE LAY DOWN WITH THE CLOTH BENEATH HER HEAD. 













































































. 

































The Redpoll Linnet 


73 


tions, and it is a marvel how they can live through 
the long, cold hours of a northern winter. 

Redpoll linnets are really small finches, so named 
because of their reddish head-tops, and from the 
fact that they like to eat linseed, flax and hemp 
seed, and are very fond of all kinds of weed seeds. 
It is a beautiful sight to see a host of these little 
birds hanging on some frost covered weed searching 
for seeds, often swaying back and forth above a 
sheet of snow. 

But even more magnificent is the sight of a pine 
tree covered with the gay little messengers, and it 
is interesting to watch them busily at work, peck¬ 
ing, pecking at the cones. Now and then they stop 
and a chorus of them sing their sweet little song. 
It is a peculiar fact that redpolls usually stay in 
the same places that their ancestors chose, or if 
they do leave on account of shortage of food or for 
some other reason usually return. It is as Lucy 
Larcom has so beautifully expressed: 

Finches with crimson caps , stopping 
Just where they stopped years before. 

The actions of redpolls greatly resemble those of 
our familiar goldfinch, and their flight is even more 
rapid and buoyant. The birds often travel together, 
but the redpolls’ visits to some of the states are very 
irregular. When seen they usually come to the 
states on the wings of a 'snowstorm, being driven 
farther south in search of food. The birds breed as 
far northward as they possibly can, and winter in 

6 


74 


Birds the Indians Knew 


various states in the United States. They like to 
travel in great flocks, and prefer best to wander in 
weedy pastures. The woods hold no temptations 
and illusions for these sun-loving little birds. The 
Holboell redpoll, a near cousin of the redpoll linnet, 
is slightly larger, while the greater redpoll is larger 
and darker, but their customs and habits are about 
the same. 

Because these little linnets are so easily tamed, 
sing so sweetly and because they are seed-eating 
birds they have been favorite cage birds. But it is a 
cruel and unjust thing to take these birds that love 
their freedom so much, and do so much toward mak¬ 
ing life brighter for others, and shut them up in a 
cage. 

Thoreau, a wonderful lover of the great out-of- 
doors, wrote: “Standing there, though in this bare 
November landscape, I am reminded of the incred¬ 
ible phenomenon of small birds in winter, that ere 
long, amid the cold, powdery snow, as it were a fruit 
of the season, will come twittering a flock of delicate, 
crimson-tinged birds. Lesser Red Polls, to sport and 
feed on the seeds and buds just ripe for them on the 
sunny side of a wood, shaking down the powdery 
snow there in their cheerful feeding, as if it were 
high midsummer to them. They greet the hunter 
and the chopper in their furs. Their maker gave 
them the last touch, and launched them forth the 
day of the Great Snow. He made this bitter, im¬ 
prisoning cold, before which man quails, but He 
made at the same time these warm and flowing 


The Redpoll Linnet 


75 


creatures to twitter and be at home in it. He said 
not only let there be linnets in winter, but linnets 
of rich plumage and pleasing twitter, bearing sum¬ 
mer in their natures. ... I am struck by the perfect 
confidence and success of Nature.” 

The song of the redpoll is strong and sweet, being 
a canary-like lisp of “tsweet, tsweet.” When climb¬ 
ing in search of food the bird usually utters a pretty 
“cree-cree-cree” with a lisping “tsweet” inter¬ 
mingled. 

The nest is made of dry grass and moss and is 
usually placed at a low elevation in a bush or tree, 
but sometimes in a tuft of grass. From three to six 
greenish-blue eggs, tinted with brown and reddish 
specks are laid. 






THE VEERY OR WILSON THRUSH 

M OST Indian children are more familiar with 
the birds than are their little white brothers 
and sisters, and nearly every red child can tell quaint 
and interesting legends about the coming of the 
birds and how they got their colors, songs or other 
characteristics. 

A beautiful tale is told about the veery or Wilson 
thrush. A white man taught an Indian lad how 
to sing some hymns, and among them was one with 
the words, “Where are you drifting today? Are 
you drifting far away?” The Indian boy seemed 
never to tire of singing this hymn over and over 
again in his clear, sweet, silvery voice. One day 
when the Great Spirit heard him and was grieved 

76 












The Veery or Wilson Thrush 77 


because some of his red children were doing wicked 
deeds, the thought of what a help it would be to 
them if they could only hear the boy’s warning song 
came to the Great Spirit. So he changed the lad 
into a veery with its sweet, melodious voice. 

As their name suggests these birds are members 
of the thrush family and therefore near relatives 
of the wonderful singing nightingales. Veerys are 
about seven and a half inches in length, and are 
found in eastern North America. They breed in 
the northern states and southern Canada, but in 
October they migrate southward and spend their 
winters in Central America, where they help the 
children in these tropical countries keep Christmas 
happy. Doubtless their sweet, cheery voices greet 
many a child on New Year’s Day too, but by May 
the little concert singers are ready to return to their 
northern homes. 

It is really hard to find exact words to describe 
their wild, sweet, melodious songs, containing a 
more infinite power to thrill than any song sung 
by a human singer. Caruso’s wonderful voice, 
Paderewski’s magnificent tones, Madam Gluck’s 
melodious songs, Schumann-Heink’s varied reper¬ 
toire, or any of the other renowned opera singers, 
have voices that cannot be compared with the trill 
of the veery as he chants his silvery song, with 
a slightly descending accent at the last. The song 
sounds something like “too-whe-u-whe-u-whe-u.” 

About this bird’s song Mrs. Claribel Weeks Avery 
has written: 


78 Birds the Indians Knew 

One silver song is all the veery knows 
And all he ever tries 
Repeated like petals on a rose 
Or stars along the skies. 

The veery’s call is a clear distinct “whee-you, whee- 
you.” 

Like most members of the thrush family these lit¬ 
tle singers are dressed in somber garments, both 
sexes wearing an olive-brown, tawnish-red coat 
above, white throat and a creamy buff waistcoat 
speckled with faint marks on the breast. These sly, 
elusive little creatures like to live near swamps, 
seeming to delight in a place covered thickly with 
ferns. They prefer to dwell in the dry places in cool, 
damp woods. 

They make their little homes on the ground amid 
fallen leaves, usually on some raised hummock, or 
a tangled mass of briars. The little home is care¬ 
fully made of strips of bark and leaves and is fash¬ 
ioned nicely. Greenish-blue eggs are laid and Mrs. 
Veery is a very attentive and loving mother, while 
Mr. Veery is always proud of his family and that he 
is a very happy individual his joyous voice always 
testifies. 

Boys and girls who live in the regions where these 
birds are found and have not yet made their ac¬ 
quaintance should do so at once. For among the 
feathered population there are no more charming 
and endearing birds. 



THE CARDINAL, A PRINCE OF BIRDS 

T HE Northwestern tribes of Indians tell a charm¬ 
ing legend of the birth of the cardinal. These 
Indians consider red a sacred color, so the cardinal 
is one of their favorite birds. The story they tell 
is that of a father who died, and their being no one 
left to hunt for the family, all were on the verge of 
starvation. So the two little children went out in 
the woods and were astonished to find another wig¬ 
wam than their own. With the curiosity attributed 
to all women the largest little girl lifted the flap 
and peeped inside. Hearing a sweet song she looked 
up and saw a beautiful red bird sitting on the cross 
bars of the tent pole. 

“I am the spirit of your father,” informed the bird, 
79 











80 


Birds the Indians Knew 


“and I have returned to watch over and guard you. 
You shall never be hungry again.” 

The cardinal belongs to a group of large finches 
called grosbeaks, meaning great beaks. This regal 
bird received its name from its brilliant coloring, 
being one of the most gorgeously colored of Amer¬ 
ican birds. The shade of the cardinal’s coat is just 
the shade of the cassock worn by a cardinal of 
the Roman Church. There is still another reason 
why this prince of birds was given the honorary 
title of the highest ecclesiastic in the Roman 
Church, for like the bluejay it wears a crest upon its 
head, which gives it a kingly appearance. The 
cardinals are rather haughty aristocrats among the 
other birds, and delight in showing their superiority, 
seldom skipping about on the ground so as to soil 
their feet. 

The cardinal is known by numerous other names, 
all applying to its vivid color, melodious song or 
some other characteristic. In some localities these 
birds are known as crested redbirds, in other places 
as crimson grosbeaks, and among dealers in cage 
birds as Virginia nightingales, but their most popu¬ 
lar name is red bird, with its variation of winter 
redbird. 

The fame of the cardinal has spread all over the 
English reading world through being immortalized 
in James Lane Allen’s beautiful story The Ken¬ 
tucky Cardinal. Gene Stratton Porter has also writ¬ 
ten about this bird in The Song of the Cardinal. 

Cardinals are really southern birds, where they 


The Cardinal, a Prince of Birds 81 

are found in abundance, and are special favorites, 
rivalling the famous mocking bird. They have no 
regularly scheduled trips as do migratory birds, and 
will stay all winter wherever they find a good board¬ 
ing place. When they stay in the North their vivid 
colors make a dazzling contrast against a back¬ 
ground of snow. The northern limit of their range, 
according to most authorities, is with the fortieth 
parallel of latitude, ranging in the east plains and 
southeastern South Dakota, southward. 

But cardinals have often been found much far¬ 
ther north, and in the parks of New York and other 
cities they may be seen in the winter months hop¬ 
ping around the caged animals picking up broken 
bits of peanuts and other food. These hardy little 
songsters have been seen as far north as Nova Scotia 
and southern Ontario. If they are found around 
your home during the summer you can easily coax 
them to remain by hanging out bits of suet and 
providing plenty of other food. During the sum¬ 
mer they live mostly upon fruit and insects, but 
can easily change their diet in winter. 

In former times, and until recently, large num¬ 
bers of cardinals were caught in traps, or taken from 
their nest when babies, and sold to bird dealers for 
cage birds. Through the efforts of various societies 
this cruel practice has been stopped, and they are 
not permitted to be sold. This is well, for they are 
too beautiful and valuable birds to be destroyed, 
and as Mrs. Olive Miller says, “He is a cynic, morose 
and crusty” when caged, which is a strange con- 


82 


Birds the Indians Knew 


trast to the wild, beautiful bird that we see when he 
is free. Unless you are very quick, and rather sly, it 
is hard to catch a glimpse of a really wild cardinal. 

As soon as these birds learn that you will be 
their friends and they have nothing to fear they can 
be lured near enough to the house so they can easily 
be watched from windows. They have rather dis¬ 
trustful natures and it takes a good bit of patience 
and time to lure them near houses, but when once 
tamed they are friendly and lovable creatures. 

Cardinals are slightly smaller and more restless 
than the familiar robins, and there is nothing 
“churchy” about them. Their crest, which can be 
lowered or erected at will, is probably their most 
conspicuous feature. They have short rounded 
wings, and long tails, the male’s being longer than 
his mate’s, and large reddish bills. The black throats 
of the males set off their bright cardinal coats, and 
at any time they may easily be seen as they swing 
back and forth in a tree, even though they are not 
calling attention to themselves by their marvelous 
song. 

The female is much less conspicuous, having 
a brownish-red frock, with just enough touches of 
a brighter shade to set it off well. Mr. and Mrs. 
Cardinal are a handsome pair, and their plumage 
remains much tht same the whole year, though in 
winter the males are streaked with a bit of brown. 

The food of the cardinal varies with the season 
and locality, but during the summer it consists 
mostly of mulberries, grapes and other wild fruits, 


The Cardinal, a Prince of Birds 83 

and the seeds of grasses, weeds and so forth, with 
large quantities of beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, 
ants, flies, larvae and other destructive insects. 
They are especially fond of rose bugs. 

As with so many birds Mrs. Cardinal builds the 
nest, while her husband sings to her in his gayest 
voice. The somewhat inartistic home is made of 
leaves, bark, twigs and so forth and nicely lined 
with grasses, and is usually placed in a leafy shrub, 
eight or ten feet from the ground. Three to four 
white eggs speckled with brown are laid, and while 
the mother sits the father entertains her with all 
kinds of beautiful songs. The home life of the car¬ 
dinals is one of the most beautiful known among 
birds, and during the time of incubation the males 
are very attentive. The birds get very excited and 
sometimes the males will lead people right to their 
nest, all the time he is trying so courageously to 
withdraw their attention. 

Unlike the females in most families of birds, Mrs. 
Cardinal is more accomplished than her mate, 
and has a wholly independent song that is quite 
individual. Though not so loud and warbling as 
that of the male’s, yet it is very melodious and pleas¬ 
ing, and there are some who consider it more beau¬ 
tiful. But the song of the cardinal is really inde¬ 
scribable, and it is remarkable among the songs of 
birds as Caruso’s voice was among human beings. 

Audubon, the great naturalist, described the song 
of the cardinal in these words: “Its song is at first 
loud and clear, resembling the finest sounds pro- 


84 


Birds the Indians Knew 


duced by the flageolet, and gradually descends into 
marked and continued cadences, until it dies away 
in the air around. During the love season the song 
is emitted with increased emphasis by this proud 
musician, who as if aware of his powers, swells his 
throat, spreads his rosy tail, droops his wings, and 
leans alternately to the right and left, as if on the 
eve of expiring with delight at the delicious sound 
of his own voice. 

“Again and again are those melodies repeated, 
the bird resting only at intervals to breathe. They 
may be heard from long before the sun gilds the 
eastern horizon to the period when the blazing orb 
pours down its noon-day floods of heat and light, 
driving the birds to the coverts to seek repose for a 
while. Again invigorated by nature, the musician 
recommences his song, when, as if he had never 
strained his throat before, he makes the whole 
neighborhood resound, nor ceases till the shades of 
evening close around him. 

“Day after day the song of the Redbird beguiles 
the weariness of his mate as she assiduously warms 
her eggs; and at times she also assists with the 
modesty of her gentler sex. Few individuals of our 
own race refuse their homage and admiration to the 
sweet songster. How pleasing is it, when, by a 
clouded sky, the woods are rendered so dark that, 
were it not for an occasional glimpse of clear light 
falling between the trees, you might imagine night 
at hand, while you are yet far distant from your 
home. How pleasing to have your ear suddenly sa- 


The Cardinal, a Prince of Birds 85 

luted by the well-known notes of this favorite bird, 
assuring you of peace around, and of the full hour 
that still remains for you to pursue your walk in 
security! How often have I enjoyed this pleasure, 
and how often in due humbleness of hope, do I trust 
that I may enjoy it again! 

“This song is heard all winter in the more south¬ 
erly States; and at that season the Cardinals often 
collect in flocks which roam together through the 
swamps and thickets, or, when the weather is se¬ 
vere, come into a village or about a farm-house in 
search of the food then hard to obtain in the snowy 
woods.” 




THE SCARLET TANAGER 

T HE various tribes of Indians had different leg¬ 
ends for all the birds. By many it is believed 
that in the very beginning all birds were gray, and 
that through various ways these colors were 
changed into the robes that the birds wear today. 
A charming story is told about the gorgeously col¬ 
ored scarlet tanager. One day a drab-colored bird 
went into the woods to fast, and falling asleep it 
dreamed that someone had said to it, "When you 
awake paint your face and body in the brightest 
colors which you can find.” So when the tanager 
awoke and found some bright red paint nearby, 
which an Indian had left for the purpose, he dipped 
in his head and wings, and then all of his body, and 

86 













The Scarlet Tanager 


87 


that is why Mr. Scarlet Tanager is such a vivid color 
part of the year. 

Only four or five tanagers of the three hundred 
and fifty species known to naturalists are found in 
the United States, for they are birds of the tropical 
regions of Central and South America. The scarlet 
tanager is about a fourth smaller than the robin, 
and likes best to live in the open woods; but where 
they are more abundant will often come out into 
fields, parks, orchards and yards to feed. At one 
time they were very common in many parts of North 
America and on to the northern borders of Canada. 

But their gorgeous color has been a snare that has 
led to their destruction mostly for millinery pur¬ 
poses. The densest evergreens and foliage cannot 
hide the blazing beauty of the males at certain 
times, and so now it is not often that a flash of their 
beauty is seen. Instinct seems to have taught the 
bird to be careful of its charms, and though at one 
time it was one of the tamest of our many birds it 
is now wild and shy, liking the solitude of a grove 
of oak or swamp maple trees near a stream or pond, 
the best of any location. 

The song of the scarlet tanager resembles that of 
the robin, but is harsher and perhaps it has fewer 
variations. Their voices seem to be always highly 
pitched. The birds delight to perch high in a tree- 
top and sing in loud, cheerful voices their rich, sweet 
song. Their call is a sharp “chirp, chirp,” or a shrill 
“chirp churr, chirp churr.” 

In spring the male is a brilliant scarlet with black 


88 


Birds the Indians Knew 


wings and tail, and under his wing coverts is a gray¬ 
ish-white, but with the coming of autumn he dons 
a garment similiar to the modest one his wife wears. 
Mrs. Scarlet Tanager is olive above and greenish- 
yellow underneath, with darker wings and tail mar¬ 
gined with white. 

These tanagers winter in South America, coming 
back to the northern states in May and starting on 
their southward journey in October. Their food is 
made up of berries, seeds and insects, which they 
frequently catch on the wing in true flycatcher 
style. 

These birds build a rather untidy and fragile 
home in which to rear their babies, but it usually 
answers the purpose. A frail, saucer-shaped struc¬ 
ture is usually built on some horizontal branch of 
an oak or pine tree, and is made of fibers and sticks. 
Standing beneath the nest one can look through 
it and see the sky or branches of the tree overhead, 
but it seems to be a strong little home and rests se¬ 
curely on its foundation. As soon as the home is 
made three or four blue-green eggs are laid, and 
with that off goes Father Tanager in his bright coat. 
After that he “chip-churrs” by the hour to his little 
bride, only coming to her long enough to feed her 
with berries and insects. 

Naturally you would think the babies would be 
dressed in the brightest shades, but not so, for they 
have to wear dull-colored garments, and later here 
and there they come to wear a bit of scarlet. But by 
and by all the boys get just as bright a suit as their 


The Scarlet Tanager 


89 


father, while the little girls have to wear the same 
modest gowns that their mothers do. 

The western tanager is another interesting spe¬ 
cies of this family found in the Rockies to the Pacific 
coast. Mr. Western Tanager wears a yellow robe 
with black tail and wings and a crimson head, which 
gives him a flashing appearance. 




THE KILDEER 

T HERE was once a white boy who was very fond 
of hunting, but unlike the Indians with whom 
he often went on the chase, he would not kill wild 
animals for food alone, but just for fun. Often his 
Indian companions protested at this cruel sport, 
telling him that it was not right to take the life of 
any living thing just for pleasure. But the boy 
would laugh and call their attention again and 
again to his clever shooting. 

“The Great Spirit will punish him some time,” 
said a chief one day, when the boy had shot a rabbit 
after enough meat had been obtained for a meal. 

One day, after a longer chase than usual, the In¬ 
dians and the white boy returned with their usual 

90 



















The Kildeer 


91 


amount of meat, when a deer went trotting across 
their trail. The white boy raised his gun and shot, 
even while the Indians pleaded with him not to kill 
the animal. 

“I killed a deer, I killed a deer,” shouted the boy 
in great glee, as the poor animal bounded forward 
and fell. In joy the boy ran to the side of the deer, 
and as he stood there watching the dying animal 
he was changed into a bird. A moment later the 
bird flew away sadly crying, “kill-deer, kill-deer,” a 
variation of which it has repeated ever since. 

Kildeers are members of the plover family and 
are found in temperate North America, northward 
to Newfoundland. They nest throughout their range, 
and usually winter south of the New England states 
to Bermuda, the West Indies and Central and South 
America. The birds migrate in March, and at mi¬ 
gration times are very abundant. All plovers can 
easily be told by the crescent-shaped mass in which 
they fly, and by their quick movements. 

No boy or girl needs to be told how a kildeer looks, 
for no bird tells its name plainer, and its piercing, 
oft repeated cry of “kil-dee, kil-dee,” is heard wher¬ 
ever one of these birds chooses to stay. He is a noisy 
restless bird, as active as any healthy boy, and he 
is a good sentinel, always being ready, night or day 
to cry out his name. When scared the bird’s voice 
is shrill and high, sounding like the warning note 
of a bugle, but at other times it is sweet and low, 
even musical and pleasant to hear. 

Nature has given these birds quite a tricolored 


92 


Birds the Indians Knew 


frock, though the shades may not be as bright as 
Jacob’s coat is alleged to have been. The birds are 
about the size of a robin, and Mr. and Mrs. Kildeers’ 
gowns are the same color and trimmed in the same 
marvelous manner. The birds wear light colored 
shoes and stockings, red eyelids and a black bill, 
which are rather noticeable when the birds are feed¬ 
ing, or skipping about on the ground. Their backs 
are grayish brown with an olive sheen, while the 
foreheads, a spot behind their eyes, throat, ring 
around the neck, a patch on the wings, a band across 
their breast and all underneath are white. Their 
front, crowns, cheeks, a ring around the neck and 
a band across the chests are black, with touches of 
chestnut on their lower back and base of the tail. 
As if to add to the fancy trimmings nearly all the 
feathers of the wings and tail are slightly tipped 
with white. Because of the various colors and stripes 
this bird is known in some regions as the “plover 
with a convict’s vest.” 

With a busy company of friends the birds like 
best to live in broad tracts of grassy land, near wa¬ 
ter, or in uplands or lowlands and marshy swamps. 
As the birds feed on insects and worms, they nat¬ 
urally spend most of the time on the ground, and 
they are very active and nimble on their long legs 
and three-toed feet. Sometimes these birds will visit 
a farmyard, but much persecution from hunters has 
made this naturally gentle bird shy and timid. 

The bird deserves the fullest protection as among 
its food are many harmful grasshoppers, beetles, 


The Kildeer 


93 


crickets and other insects which make up its diet in 
the day. Because most of the worms come out to¬ 
ward nightfall the birds are especially active at 
these hours searching for them. The bird may be 
high up in the air, and seeing some insect or worm 
that looks especially tempting, dart down and catch 
it in its short, stout beak. It is claimed that under 
favorable conditions these birds can see a worm on 
freshly plowed ground at a distance of three hun¬ 
dred feet down. 

Most plovers nest in the Arctic regions, where the 
cruel deeds of man are not known, but the kildeer 
nests throughout its range. The birds make their 
nest on the ground in gravel, sand, or even in the 
pasture or a plowed field, in a shallow depression. 
The little home is never lined, and nothing else is 
done to the hole chosen for a home, but usually a 
clump of weeds hangs over the place. 

Generally four buff-colored eggs, spotted brown, 
are laid, which are unusually large compared to the 
bird, and are always laid with the small ends to 
the center. This is so the eggs will take as little 
space as possible. The mother sits upon the eggs, 
even when disturbed, until you can nearly touch 
her, and then feigning lameness she will start to 
run away in an opposite direction from the ap¬ 
proaching intruder. The young birds are very strong 
and are able to walk as soon as they are hatched, 
and it is not long till their plaintive “kil-dee, kil- 
dee,” joins with their parents’ cries. 



THE KINGLETS 

T HE Caribs and Indians of Guiana tell a queer 
legend of the coming of the kinglets. They be¬ 
lieve that God created a wonderful tree from which 
sprang many things, such as man, birds, beasts and 
so forth, at the command of a great voice in the sky. 
Once upon a time this kingly voice commanded that 
this tree, the silk cotton, be cut down. In sorrow 
the people took the leaves and twigs and planted 
them and from them sprang many things, among 
them the dainty little kinglets. 

The kinglets are a family of charming, little, ac¬ 
tive, restless birds that delight in flitting about rap¬ 
idly among the twigs and leaves of trees in search of 
insects. They are not at all shy and are quite as 

94 










The Kinglets 


95 


lively and happy as are wrens and chickadees. In 
fact the golden-crowned kinglets are so rugged that 
many of them spend the winters in the most severe 
states in this country. This species is found in North 
America, breeding from the northern part of this 
country, northward, and farther south in the moun¬ 
tain regions. It is seldom that they fly southward 
for the winter, so the children living in the southern 
states and countries are not acquainted with this 
gay little messenger. 

Mr. Golden-crowned Kinglet wears an orange 
crown tinged with yellow and trimmed with black, 
while the rest of his suit is an olive-green. Mrs. 
Golden-crowned Kinglet wears a more yellowish- 
head dress that is not so gaudy as her husband's, 
and the rest of her clothes are less brightly colored. 
These tiny birds are scarcely any larger than a 
house wren, and yet they are always busy, and be¬ 
cause they eat so many insects are among the most 
beneficial of birds. 

These kinglets are not as good singers as are the 
ruby-crowned species, and utter only a few weak 
chirps, chips and thrills. But they make the most 
beautiful and cunning little home in which a baby 
ever lived. The home is made of a large ball of soft 
green moss in which feathers have been interwoven, 
and this is carefully hung from the tips of small 
branches in coniferous trees. The inside of this ball 
is carefully hollowed out for a nursery and six to 
nine creamy white eggs, spotted and dotted with 
brown, are laid. Tiny as the nests are they yet seem 


96 


Birds the Indians Knew 


large for so small a bird, being a little over four 
inches across, but there must be room for the new 
babies. 

The ruby-crowned kinglets are about a fourth of 
an inch larger than the golden-crowned birds, and 
the males have a red patch on the top of their shape¬ 
ly little heads, which, however, is only visible when 
the birds are angry or excited. Kinglets are fierce 
little fighters, and it is only in battle that we are 
convinced they deserve the name given to them. 

Like the other kinglets the ruby-crowned species 
flit about among the pine trees, but unlike them 
they are not fond of cold weather, so they spend 
their winters in Central America and Mexico. These 
birds are most common in their migrations in Oc¬ 
tober and April, and it is on their return northward 
that they fill the air with their rich, lyrical song. 

These tiny creatures have surprisingly loud voices, 
and their clear, sweet warble is strong and varied. 
It is as musical and full of exuberance as the song 
of the wren is, and these little creatures are just as 
fond of lifting and flitting their wings in a coquet¬ 
tish way, as the wren is of jerking his saucy little 
tail. Surprisingly enough the kinglet’s call is a harsh 
grating chatter, and it is startling to hear the birds 
utter it after finishing a melodious song. 

Ruby-crowned kinglets are found in North 
America, breeding northward from the northern 
United States, and farther south in the mountains. 
Their nesting habits are the same as those of the 
golden-crowned species. 


The Kinglets 


97 


Over three-fourths of the kinglets’ food is made 
up of wasps, beetles, flies and other little insects. 
Most of the animal food that they consume is very 
small, but of a harmful character, so even if the 
birds are tiny they are real helpers. Their vegetable 
food consists of the seeds of poison ivy and poison 
oak, weed seeds, and a few small fruits, elderberries 
being among their favorite dish. 




SCISSORS-TAIL FLYCATCHER 

T HE Cherokee Indians tell their children a leg¬ 
end of how the scissors-tail flycatcher was cre¬ 
ated from a redhorse fish, a member of the sucker 
family. The fish has an elongated, compressed body 
and large eyes, also a long tail as has the flycatcher, 
and salmon-pink sides, from which the Indians be¬ 
lieve that these birds got their pink feathers beneath 
their wings. 

The Pawnee Indians also tell legends in connec¬ 
tion with the coming of this pretty bird, and looked 
upon it with reverence and awe, believing that it 
was a sacred spirit sent to earth by the Great 
Father. While the Mexican Indians, believing that 
the birds ate the brains of other birds, thought 

98 












Scissors-Tail Flycatcher 


99 


they were wise and therefore were filled with various 
superstitions when the little creatures came into 
camp. 

These charming little birds belong to a large fam¬ 
ily of songless perching birds containing about 
four hundred species. The flycatchers are most 
abundant in the United States. The scissors-tail fly¬ 
catcher breeds from Texas, northward to Kansas, 
and winters south of the United States to Costa 
Rica. But everywhere the little bird is greeted with 
affection, though the boys and girls living in Texas 
and southwestern states are probably better ac¬ 
quainted with these birds than folk living elsewhere. 

In these states the flycatcher is frequently men¬ 
tioned as the “Texas Bird of Paradise,” not so much 
for the brilliancy of its plumage as for its attractive 
appearance. It is the most graceful of the flycatcher 
family, and probably of all perching birds, having 
the excellent, courtly manners of the most polished 
ballroom guest. Strangely enough the kingbird, 
wood pewee, crested flycatcher and Arcadian fly¬ 
catcher belong to this same family, but the fly¬ 
catcher found in the Old World belongs to another 
family. 

If you are not familiar with this bird you probab¬ 
ly wonder why it was given such a quaint, odd name, 
but if you have once seen the bird’s long scissor-like 
tail you will cease to be puzzled. In the adults the 
head and body are nearly white, while the quills 
of the tail and wings are a dark gray shading into 
reddish-brown, with outer feathers of white. Under- 


100 Birds the Indians Knew 

neath the wings are patches of salmon-pink, shaped 
oddly enough and truly resembling the scales of 
fish. These bright bits can only be seen when the 
bird is in flight. There is little or no difference in 
the frocks that Mr. and Mrs. Scissors-tail wear, but 
the females, as in almost all tribes of birds, are 
smaller than the males. The babies wear a garb of 
soft, downy pearl, which changes as they grow older 
into the colors of their parents. 

Scissors-tail flycatchers are rather solitary, seden¬ 
tary birds and are seldom found in flocks. They 
usually travel in pairs, for after being mated they 
are devoted lovers and homemakers, but sometimes 
the birds do travel in flocks. A flock of them is a 
wonderful sight, for few birds have such a marvel¬ 
ous flight. From some lofty perch on a telegraph 
wire or the limbs of a tree they dart out into the air, 
floating apparently without the least effort, and 
opening and closing their pretty wings and tail in 
joyous abandon. 

The birds are usually found in the open country 
or in the borders of woodlands where the most in¬ 
sects are found. They scarcely ever touch the 
ground, for their long tails make walking awkward, 
but in flight they are surpassed by few birds in 
grace. 

All flycatchers can be known by the way they 
catch their food, and one can often see the birds 
sitting quietly on some perch, appearing to be half 
asleep and dreaming joyous dreams, when off they 
dart. Click, click goes their broad bill, as the insects 


Scissors-Tail Flycatcher 101 

are caught in the air, and now and then the long 
scissor-like tail is opened and shut. Then a short 
fluttering ensues and another dive is made. Often 
fifty or more such marvelous looping flights are 
made, and as many insects caught and devoured. 
Most of the bird’s diet, as its name suggests, is made 
up of insects, of which grasshoppers, wasps, bees 
and ants make the larger part. But the birds eat a 
small amount of seed and fruit. 

The flycatcher family is not noted for its beauti¬ 
ful singing, though one would rather think that 
birds so closely associated with tropical gorgeous¬ 
ness would possess a beautiful voice. The little 
song of the scissors-tail is shrill and fine, but full of 
buoyant enthusiasm that really holds innumerable 
thrills. Some think that the bird calls “tzip, tzip,” 
a note similiar to that of the kingbird, while to oth¬ 
ers it sounds more like “hip-see-dee, hip-se-dee.” 
Probably others would interpret it in different 
sounds, for it is a peculiar fact that many bird notes 
and songs do not sound the same to different people. 
Then the same bird often has various notes, es¬ 
pecially at different times of the year, and often 
even the male and female in the same species have 
different notes. Usually the babies have another 
way of expressing themselves, especially when de¬ 
manding food. 

These flycatchers are not very particular about 
what kind of building material they use in con¬ 
structing their little home, for all kinds of trash are 
used. Grass, paper, twigs, rags, strings, anything is 


102 Birds the Indians Knew 

gathered up and placed in any kind of tree or bush 
and at any height. The birds seem to care little 
about how their home looks, and probably like some 
people believe the sooner it is made the better, for 
little care and time is spent in making the nest. 

Somehow or other the little home usually clings 
together until it is no longer needed, but alas it sel¬ 
dom remains to be used by other birds, as do some 
nests that are made more carefully. Four to five 
creamy white eggs, spotted with brown, are laid. 
Few birds seem as proud of their children as are 
these parents, and few babies receive more affection 
and tender care. The youngsters are rather vora¬ 
cious eaters, and are forever demanding food, always 
ready at the edge of the nest when they see their 
parents coming. There follows a lively skirmish 
when there are more than two babies waiting for 
food. The tots grow rapidly and soon the little wings 
and tails grow long enough to carry the light bodies 
sailing through the air. 




I N the beginning the Great Spirit first gave the 
red men the trees and flowers. The Indians 
learned to love these very much, and for hours at 
a time would lie in the shade of the trees, or near 
a bunch of flowers, and listen to the leaves whisper. 
The leaves told them many strange tales, and one 
day the maple tree whispered to the chief of the 
tribe that the bad Frost Spirit would soon come and 
take all the flowers and leaves away. When the 
chief told his people they were very sad, and won¬ 
dered how it would be possible to live through all 
the long days of winter without the dancing leaves. 

One day, when he could bear the thought no long¬ 
er, the strong chief asked the Great Spirit to send 

103 











104 Birds the Indians Knew 

something to sing to them through the winter in¬ 
stead of the leaves. And because the chief was a 
good man, the Great Spirit listened to his plea, and 
one morning when the Indians awoke they heard 
a strange commotion around the maple trees. With 
bows and arrows they hurried down to the group 
of maples, under which they had dreamed all sum¬ 
mer. They were startled to find that the golden- 
yellow and red maple leaves were turning brown 
and drifting to the ground. But they were still more 
astonished to find that as soon as the leaves touched 
the ground they were transformed into little 
grayish-brown creatures. And this is the story they 
tell of the birth of the friendly tree sparrow. 

Tree sparrows are residents of the Arctic regions, 
passing their winters in the northern half of the 
United States, appearing in this country in October. 
They can often be seen hopping about in the fields 
and gardens in the winter months. These are one 
of the most common sparrows, and are found in 
abundance in North America, east of the Plains, 
breeding in Labrador and Hudson Bay. The west¬ 
ern tree sparrow is a sub-species, being paler in 
color, and found west of the Plains to the Pacific. 

The tree sparrows bear a strong resemblance to 
our familiar chipping sparrows, but are larger and 
have other characteristic markings. They are not 
quite as large as the common English sparrow, be¬ 
ing six and a fourth inches in length, nor are they 
as noisy. 

These birds are clothed in the usual drab colors 


The Tree Sparrow 


105 


worn by sparrows, but may easily be distinguished 
by a blackish-brown spot in the middle of their 
breast, and their reddish-brown crown. There is no 
black about the head, and the back and wings are 
mostly a soft reddish-brown. The parti-colored 
bill is rather conspicuous, the upper half being 
black, the lower yellow and finished with a black 
tip. Just these tiny touches of color give the bird 
a bright appearance, especially in winter when the 
ground is covered with snow. 

No bird, not even the cheerful chickadees, has a 
more social nature and more hospitable ways than 
do the tree sparrows. No matter how frugal is the 
table spread for them, nor how hungry they are, 
they will always welcome other winter birds to their 
feeding grounds, and share with them the choicest 
seeds. They seem never to quarrel among them¬ 
selves, or with other birds, and a flock is usually 
seen together. 

There are few more useful birds than these little 
creatures, for in winter their diet is composed en¬ 
tirely of weed seeds, most of which are destructive. 
It is said that each sparrow will eat at least a fourth 
of an ounce a day, so in this way they are of great 
benefit. Professor Beal of the Department of Agri¬ 
culture estimates that tree sparrows in Iowa alone 
destroy eight hundred and seventy-five tons of ob¬ 
noxious weed seeds every winter. 

The little home is usually built on the ground, or 
at a low elevation in a bush. Several pale bluish- 
green eggs, with brown specks, are laid, and the 

8 


106 Birds the Indians Knew 


mother looks after them carefully. The baby spar¬ 
rows are rather odd looking little creatures, and are 
forever hungry. The parents seem to be very happy 
and proud of their little family, and when they take 
them out for their first short flight no bird parents 
seem prouder. The young birds grow rapidly, and 
it is not long till they are as large as their parents, 
but it takes some time before they have enough 
strength to endure long journeys. 

Mr. Chapman, a bird student, likens their cheer¬ 
ful, soft, jingling notes to various elements of win¬ 
ter, and in comparing them with frost used these 
words, “sparkling frost crystals turned to music.” 
This gives but a faint idea of the beautiful thrill 
one has on hearing the soft, musical notes in win¬ 
ter. Their song is strong, sweet and musical, ending 
in a low, glad warble, that makes one feel the bird 
is happy just to be alive. Their carol heard some 
stormy day in winter sounds sweeter and more 
melodious than the sweetest notes ever uttered by 
the most famous human singers. Among themselves 
they converse in a soft, musical chirp, which never 
sounds rough or quarrelsome. 

Cooper was probably referring to this cheerful 
little air messenger when he wrote: 

Ah, may 1 he as cheerful 
As yonder winter birds, 

Through ills and petty crosses, 

With no repining words. 



T HE Indians find it very hard to imagine that 
there ever was a time when there was no joyful, 
vivacious song sparrows in the world, and yet at the 
very beginning of things there were no birds at all. 
Then one after another of the species of birds were 
created in one way or another. One day the Great 
Spirit came to a large heap of chips which had been 
hewn from posts, and he wondered how he could 
make these bits of wood of any use. For a long time 
he pondered about the chips which had been hewn 
from the posts and then decided that they could be 
made to serve the greatest use by being turned into 
birds. So He changed them into the happy song 
sparrows we love so much. 

107 










108 Birds the Indians Knew 

With the exception of the English sparrow the 
song sparrow probably has the widest distribution of 
all this large family of drab-colored birds. They are 
quite hardy little creatures and often spend their 
winters in the northern states, but they usually mi¬ 
grate as far south as the southern part of Illinois 
and on to the Gulf States. They are among the first 
of the spring birds to come back to their northern 
homes, and usually come back in March. 

Song sparrows are found throughout eastern 
North America and north to Canada and fly about 
nearly everywhere in bushes, vines, hedges and even 
around the homes in large cities. When grown the 
birds measure about six and one-fourth inches in 
length and few birds rival them in musical ecstasy. 
Their whole bodies seem to throb to the sweetness 
of their song, which is very pleasing and melodious, 
sounding much like that of a canary. From early 
morning till late at night the birds seem to be sing¬ 
ing their varied carols. Unlike the song of so many 
birds, who have only a note or two in their chorus, 
the song sparrows’ carols never grow monotonous. 

Clothed as are all members of the sparrow family 
in clay-colored garments, these birds have three 
long gray bands across the tops of their brown 
heads, and brown stripes on each side of their 
throats. Their brownish-gray backs are streaked 
with red. Underneath they are gray, shading to a 
white, streaked with brown. The most distinguish¬ 
ing mark of this sparrow is the blackish lines around 
the throat which look like a tiny collar. 


The Song Sparrow 


109 


These sparrows build neat little attractive homes 
of grass, either on the ground or low in bushes. They 
lay three to five bluish-white eggs, thickly spotted 
with brown. Mrs. Song Sparrow makes a very at¬ 
tentive mother and keeps her little home snug and 
clean. She teaches her babies the very best man¬ 
ners and they are always quiet, well-behaved, 
charming youngsters of which the parents are very 
proud. 

Henry Van Dyke, a noted writer, has eulogized 
this little feathered Caruso in a poem about the 
bird: 

He does not wear a Joseph’s coat 
Of many colors smart and gay; 

His suit is Quaker brown and gray, 

With darker patches at the throat. 

And yet of all the well-dressed throng 
No one can sing so brave a song. 

It makes the pride of looks appear 

A vain and foolish thing to hear 

His i( Sweet-sweet-sweet-very merry cheer ” 

A lofty place he does not love, 

But sits by choice, and well at ease, 

In hedges and in little trees 

That stretch their slender arms above 
The meadow brook, and there he sings 
Till all the world with pleasure rings; 

And so he tells in every ear 

That lowly homes to heaven are near 
In “Sweet-sweet-sweet-very merry cheer ” 



THE UPLAND PLOVER 

T HERE is an old, old legend that is told of 
the upland plover which is as interesting as it is 
pathetic. There was a young Indian boy who liked 
to wander far in search of wild animals and birds, 
but he was not yet a warrior, not having undergone 
the great fast that each of the boys must pass 
through before he is considered fit to go hunting. 

Again and again his mother and father warned 
the young lad not to go so far from the wigwam, 
telling him that some day they feared he would be 
lost. But the boy was very brave and his spirit was 
throbbing with adventure, and just to go along with 
the other warriors held no thrill for him. He longed 
for something more exciting and venturesome, and 

110 





















The Upland Plover 


111 


laughed at the idea that he could not endure the 
things that boys a few years older than he had 
passed through. 

“Just because I haven’t fasted is no sign I am 
not a great warrior,” he boasted one day to his 
mother as he began to get ready to go on a long 
chase. All his mother’s pleading did not touch the 
boy’s heart and he left her crying at the flap of the 
wigwam with a promise that he would return soon. 

But the day passed and still another and an¬ 
other and he did not come, and the whole tribe 
became anxious and started to search for him. A 
week passed by and nothing was heard from the boy 
but still they kept looking for him, and on the 
tenth day they found the boy’s blanket beneath a 
tree. Close-by they saw a lovely dove-like bird 
eating insects. “I am the soul of Rantou, the lost 
boy,” said the bird. “The Great Spirit has changed 
me into a bird that I may comfort his broken¬ 
hearted mother and father, his sisters and brothers 
and his people. He disobeyed once too often and the 
Great Spirit has seen fit to punish him.” Then the 
bird flew away. 

The upland plovers are members of a very large 
family of birds that are found in almost every part 
of the world. This bird breeds as far north as the 
Yukon Valley and southward to Maine, as far down 
as the Potomac Valley and Oklahoma, and west¬ 
ward to the foot of the Sierra Nevadas. Its winters 
are spent in South America on the broad pampas of 
the Argentine, where it can find plenty of animal 


112 Birds the Indians Knew 

food. Thus in its migrations it travels almost the 
length of the two Americas, and it is truly a won¬ 
derful bird in flight. 

These birds are really a species of sandpipers, but 
have become so widely known as plovers that even 
the greatest of bird students now class them as such. 
The birds do not have the short neck and legs and 
the short pigeon-like bill of the true plover, having 
a more slenderly built body. They also have four 
toes instead of the three toes that real plovers have, 
but still they resemble the family of birds in some 
of their characteristics and habits. 

In various localities the bird is known as grass, 
cornfield, plain, field, highland, and gray plover 
from its habits or color. In the west it is known as 
prairie pigeon, prairie snipe, meadow plover, and 
whistling plover, and it may be by any of these 
names that boys and girls living in these states are 
familiar with these shy, retiring birds. 

Years ago upland plovers were found throughout 
their range in great abundance, and it was consid¬ 
ered a bird of good omen, being both harmless and 
useful, but alas, because of the greed of man, this 
bird has become almost extinct. It is thought that 
when the first white men came to this country this 
wild little creature was very rare in the eastern 
states because of the vast woods along the Atlantic 
shore—as it usually lives in prairie regions. 

As the land was cleared the birds became abun¬ 
dant, but with the advance of market-hunting they 
decreased rapidly. In 1880, when pigeons began to 


The Upland Plover 


113 


fail for the market, barrels and barrels of these birds 
were killed and sent to the cities. Since then laws 
have been passed in the hope of saving this beauti¬ 
ful bird, which deserves the fullest protection. 

Upland plovers have several curious habits. 
Though so timid about anyone approaching on foot 
the birds do not fear anyone in a vehicle or on horse¬ 
back. When startled, they have a very interesting 
habit of running quickly a short distance, then 
stopping with a quick jerk and looking about them 
in all directions as if to try to find out what the 
trouble is. 

Ninety-seven per cent of the plover’s diet con¬ 
sists of animal food, of which about half is grass¬ 
hoppers, the bird being a gourmand for these pests. 
Crickets, locusts, weevils of nearly all kinds, bill- 
bugs and other insects are also eaten. It is thought 
that even when they were abundant the birds were 
harmless, and have always consumed some of the 
farmers’ worst enemies. In the spring their animal 
diet is varied a little by a few nips at some tender 
vegetables. 

These birds are about twelve inches in length, 
and are the only plain colored shorebirds found east 
of the plains, inhabiting dry fields and hillsides. 
This bird utters several different cries, that can 
scarcely be characterized as songs, but late in May 
they have a mournful, mellow whistle that sounds 
quite melodious. Professor Lyndes Jones says that 
its common rolling call is not unlike the cry of a 
“tree-frog,” of a different and unmistakable quality 


114 Birds the Indians Knew 

and caliber. Its common call note sounds something 
like “quitty-quit, quitty-quit,” while the alarm note 
is a peculiar sharp call. 

Upland plovers are not skillful nest builders and 
they choose a little grass-lined hollow at the root of 
a small bush for their home. Four large pale gray 
eggs, spotted with various colors, are laid, and Mrs. 
Upland Plover guards them carefully. She will often 
sit on the eggs until she is almost stepped upon, 
while her husband pleads with her to come away. 
The young birds hatch out in June and are able to 
run about at once, though their legs seem very long 
and awkward. 

Edward Howe Forbush, a noted ornithologist, says 
about the babies in his Audubon leaflet, “Through 
the early summer they dwell in the grassland in 
security, feeding largely on insects and wild straw¬ 
berries. Their anxious parents lead them about and 
sound the alarm at the approach of an enemy, when 
the little ones scatter, squat and hide. In July, when 
the hay is cut, they are well able to look out for 
themselves, although they have not yet learned 
fully to fear the sportsman.” 



PRAIRIE CHICKENS 

A CCORDING to an old Indian legend, there was 
once a mother chicken who had a flock of the 
most cunning and active little chickens. They were 
probably of various colors and rather wild, for they 
belonged to a family living on the edge of a great 
prairie. For a time the mother hen was kept locked 
up in a coop so she would not wander so far away 
in the long grass with her babies. Because she un¬ 
derstood the dangers of the prairie to her brood of 
small youngsters, she was contented, but as the 
children grew older they wanted to go farther and 
farther away. Over and over again the mother 
pleaded with the most daring and adventurous of 
her children not to go far away from her, telling 

115 









116 Birds the Indians Knew 

them again and again of the many things that 
might befall them in the acres of grass stretching 
beside them. 

One day Little Pinshot, as the reddish brown 
chicken was called, eluded his mother’s watchful 
attentions and wriggled out underneath the pen 
and started running as fast as he could. “I will 
see the world,” he kept saying to himself, going 
farther and farther into the long grass that seemed 
like giant trees to the tiny chicken. Little Pinshot 
had not gone very far before he felt something crawl¬ 
ing close to his yellow feet, and looking down he 
saw a long snake creeping near to him, and he start¬ 
ed to peep. He was so frightened that he turned 
around and started to run as hard as he could, his 
only thought being that he wanted to get safely 
back to his mother. 

After he had run a much longer way than it 
seemed he had come, he still did not see the pen 
from which he had escaped, and this scared him 
even worse, besides just then a prairie dog popped 
out of his hole and barked at him. Little Pinshot 
was so frightened that he could not even cry and 
he was so tired he couldn’t go any farther, and 
the little prairie dog came nearer and nearer. 
Then all at once Little Pinshot felt that he could fly 
and that he was growing larger and larger, for a 
good fairy had seen the trouble that he was in and 
had changed him into a prairie chicken that he 
might better escape enemies living on the ground. 

Like the passenger or wild pigeon the prairie 


Prairie Chickens 


117 


chickens were once abundant, but ruthless killing 
has made them almost extinct. About thirty years 
ago, about two dozen prairie chickens used to make 
their home here on our farm in northern Illinois, 
but now not a one is left, though none of us ever 
killed any of them. What prairie chickens are left 
are found in the Mississippi Valley, southward to 
Louisiana and Texas, eastward to Kentucky and In¬ 
diana and northward to the Dakotas and Manitoba. 
These birds are permanent residents in most parts 
of their range, migrating only in the northern lim¬ 
its, or when the food that they prefer is not avail¬ 
able. With the introduction of steam plows and 
railroads, the birds flee, for they are truly birds of 
the boundless prairies. 

Prairie chickens are also known as pinnated 
grouse and prairie hens, as they are members of the 
grouse family. The birds measure from sixteen to 
eighteen inches in length and as in most families of 
birds the females are smaller than the males, have 
different colored markings and lack the loose sacs 
that the males have on each side of their cheeks. 
Mr. Prairie Chicken can inflate these yellow sacs at 
will, and when puffed out they look like two huge 
oranges on each side of his face, an antic which he 
delights in when courting. 

The upper parts of the birds are brown barred 
with black, chestnut, ochre and white. The wings 
are mostly a whitish-red; on the side of the neck 
are tufts made up of ten or more narrow stiff feath¬ 
ers rounded at the end, which may be erected above 


118 Birds the Indians Knew 

the head. The rounded white-tipped tail is a dusky 
brown, while the chin and throat are white and the 
breast and farther underneath are whitish, evenly 
barred with black. The legs are scantily feathered 
in front only, giving them rather a queer appear¬ 
ance. 

These birds are strong fliers and will fly a long 
distance. As Edgar S. Jones says: “His peculiar 
manner of flying also attracts attention. As he 
leaves the ground the wings produce a sort of whir¬ 
ring sound not produced by birds of any other fam¬ 
ily. After arising in the air, he flaps the wings for a 
considerable distance.” They will not and can not 
live in certain places any more than an Indian used 
to roaming over the boundless prairies can stand to 
be shut up in a crowded city. So it is getting harder 
and harder for these shy, gentle-natured birds to 
find a suitable place to live. 

Few birds have finer manners and more coquet¬ 
tish ways than Mr. Prairie Chicken when he woos 
his bride. The booming noise associated with these 
birds is made by the male as the wind is permitted 
to go out of the air sacs on his cheeks. He also 
drums with his wings, and all his queer antics will 
attract other males, and by and by a real scrap en¬ 
sues. At other times their cry is a hollow sound, and 
when alarmed the whole flock will fly up pitifully 
crying, “Cluk-cluk-cluk-cluk.” 

The nest is a very rude affair made in a clump of 
thick grass, usually in a dry place, but sometimes 
in marshy ground where it is inundated in a wet 


Prairie Chickens 


119 


season. Sometimes a slight hole or depression in the 
ground is chosen for a nesting site, which is sparsely 
lined with grasses and feathers plucked from the 
mother’s body. Ten to twenty creamy-pale brown 
eggs are laid. They are spotted regularly with red¬ 
dish-brown dots, and usually each egg in a clutch 
is spotted differently. 

As soon as the nesting season begins Mr. Prairie 
Chicken deserts his wife, and returns when the in¬ 
cubating period is over and the babies are several 
weeks old. It takes from twenty-three to twenty- 
eight days for the eggs to hatch, but thousands of 
eggs and young are destroyed by machinery, cattle 
and other animals passing over the nests. So near 
is the color of the mother bird to that of her sur¬ 
roundings that one may almost step on her before 
seeing her. Like all the birds belonging to this 
family a prairie chicken makes an ideal and at¬ 
tentive mother, and teaches her children to be mar¬ 
velously cunning in hiding in the grass. As the fall 
season approaches the members of the various fam¬ 
ilies unite in order to spend the winter together. 




I T would be a strange and interesting sight to see 
a flock of wild turkeys in those places where 
once they were so abundant. Great flocks of these 
game birds were once found as far north as Maine, 
Ontario and the Dakotas, but in most of these re¬ 
gions they are now extinct, and they are found only 
in flocks in this country on the islands off the south¬ 
ern coast of Georgia and in the southwestern states. 

It is commonly believed that our domesticated 
turkeys are descendants of the wild turkeys that 
our Pilgrim ancestors found in this country, and 
with which they celebrated their first Thanksgiving. 
This, however, is erroneous, for the turkeys of our 
barnyard descended from the wild turkeys found in 

120 










Wild Turkeys 


121 


South America. Because it was at first believed that 
turkeys came from the country of Turkey they were 
so called. 

Before the onward rush of civilization gave the 
wild turkeys cause to be scared they were not very 
wild, but much persecution has made them very 
wary and cunning and unapproachable in the few 
places where they are still found in settled country. 
These same conditions have forced these liberty-lov¬ 
ing birds to hunt out the most inaccessible moun¬ 
tains and swampy bottom lands in which to live, 
not because they prefer these localities but for the 
reason that they like freedom and the wild sweep 
of unsettled country as much as the eagle. 

In their native haunts wild turkeys congregate in 
small flocks, usually going out into the open coun¬ 
try only for food, which is a habit very similar to 
that of other wild birds. They are very fond of the 
softer shelled nuts, which they can break open, as 
well as of seeds, insects, berries, and other small 
fruit. They build their crude nests on the ground 
out of dry leaves. Usually ten to fourteen pale 
cream-buff, brown speckled eggs are laid, and some¬ 
times two or more hens lay in the same nest, tak¬ 
ing turns about sitting on the eggs. Just as soon 
as the mating season is over the turkey gobblers 
leave, and pay no more attention to their wives and 
babies. But even though Mr. Turkey is so heartless 
he is still very jealous of his wife, who often hides 
her nest away so that her husband will not destroy 
the eggs and even the babies. 

9 


122 Birds the Indians Knew 

During the courting season there is no more gal¬ 
lant and attentive lover than Mr. Wild Turkey. Be¬ 
ginning at the break of dawn in spring, without 
leaving the place where they have roosted, the males 
begin to utter their shrill, clear love song, which is 
wholly different from the coarse call of our barn¬ 
yard turkeys. The females always roost apart until 
the males have won them as brides, but they give 
plenty of evidence of hearing the lovers singing to 
them. 

Wild turkeys are the largest of the game birds, 
and average about four feet in length. Mrs. Turkey 
is a paler color than her husband, and does not have 
the bristles on her breast. The head and upper 
part of Mr. Turkey’s neck is naked, while the rest 
of him is clothed in metallic bronze feathers with 
copper and green reflections, and all the feathers 
are tipped black. A long bunch of bristles, resem¬ 
bling a bushy beard, hangs from the middle of the 
male’s breast, whilst his head, bill and legs are red. 
The feet are spurred, giving them a rather quaint 
appearance. 

The brush turkey is a wild species found in Aus¬ 
tralia, and is especially interesting because of the 
way in which it hatches its eggs. The nest is made 
of grass and other vegetable matter, and is usually 
built by several pairs of birds, the males helping 
their wives. The eggs of several families are laid in 
these nests and are left until hatched by the decay 
of the vegetable matter. From the very moment that 
they are hatched the babies have to take care of 


Wild Turkeys 


123 


themselves, which they do in a remarkable way. 

Brush turkeys are smaller than the wild turkeys 
found in this country, being about the size of a 
common turkey, and like them have wattles on the 
head and neck. About twelve species belong to this 
family of birds, which are sometimes called mound 
birds. They are hunted for their flesh. 

A rather interesting story is told about the dis¬ 
covery of the wild turkey. This story, of Greek 
origin, became interwoven with Indian legends and 
with changed names, is told by Indians as one of 
their legends. 

Ancient history tells about a king of Macedonia 
named Meleager, who it appears, seemed to have 
been very fond of travel, and in one of his journeys 
he met the regal wild turkey and introduced it 
into Europe. The bird was named in honor of the 
king, and to this very day the scientifical name of 
the turkey is meleagrides. In ancient literature we 
find allusions made to the wild turkey under its 
scientific name, and Sophocles wrote a play, that 
later was lost, in which there was a chorus about 
the meleagrides. This play was written to celebrate 
the death of King Meleager. 

Tradition has it then that for a time all sight of 
the wild turkey was lost, and it does not seem to 
have been heard of again until the Romans used 
it for food. But as wild turkeys do not thrive under 
domestic conditions the birds seem to have died out 
and were not heard of again in Europe till the six¬ 
teenth century. 


124 Birds the Indians Knew 

When next heard of it is said that a young man 
in the French army brought wild turkeys from India 
into France and Germany. Once again they seemed 
to have become extinct, and wild turkeys seem not 
to have been known again till people began coming 
to America. 





THE RED-TAILED HAWK 

I N America the hawks play quite an important 
part in the folklore and legends of the Indians, 
and this is the tale that they tell about the red-tailed 
hawk. Once there was a very bad Indian, who never 
liked to do a kind deed or say a pleasant word, and 
one day an ugly old witch ran after him because he 
was teasing her. The Indian started to run as fast 
as he could, but the witch could run faster and 
gained on him, and the harder the Indian ran the 
faster the witch ran. She had almost reached him 
when the Indian began to cry for help, and suddenly 
he felt himself changed into a hawk, and in this 
new form he escaped from the enraged woman. 

As Mrs. Ida Dorman Morris says in Prairie Far- 

125 















126 Birds the Indians Knew 

mer: “The hawk is no common bird. Its history 
runs back to the days of chivalry, to the time when 
knighthood was in flower, when gallant young 
knights found the sport of hawking quite to their 
taste. Back still further yet we may go to find the 
earliest mention of the hawk, back to the early 
Egyptians, when the hawk was the symbol of the 
god Horus, the sun god of Egypt. Dire punishment 
was meted out to anyone who injured a hawk.” 

Hawks are very common birds and are found in 
every country, but each seems to have its own par¬ 
ticular hawk, and the sparrow-hawk belongs to 
America, the whistling-hawk belongs to Africa, the 
falcon-hawk to Persia and so forth. The red-tailed 
hawks breed in the United States, Mexico, Costa 
Rica, Canada and Alaska, and generally winter in 
the southern part of the United States and south to 
Guatemala. 

Just because some hawks have committed great 
crimes and are fond of killing poultry and other 
birds, all hawks have rather a disreputable name, 
but some of them are among our best friends. One 
can hardly mention “hawk” to some farmers with¬ 
out their thinking of a gun, but the red-tailed 
hawk, or hen-hawk as it is familiarly called, is one 
of the most useful of this family. Everyone should 
learn to distinguish the useful hawks from the bad 
ones. As Mrs. Morris says: “No intelligent person 
today would think of killing a robin for a cherry or 
two,” so the good hawks should not be killed for the 
deeds committed by the other ones. 


The Re d-T ailed Hawk 127 

The red-tailed hawk is one of the best known birds 
of prey and like all members of the family has a 
strong, sharply-curved bill, which is fitted for tear¬ 
ing food to pieces. Its claws or talons are also con¬ 
structed like those of other hawks, and its legs are 
so jointed that when they bend they will close tight¬ 
ly, thus holding their food in a tight grip, till the leg 
is straightened. In this way all hawks obtain a 
tight hold on their prey. These birds are among the 
largest of the hawks, and are about two feet in 
length, Mrs. Red-Tail being larger than her hus¬ 
band. In nearly all families of hawks the females 
are larger than the males, and upon the females 
usually devolves the duty of protecting the home 
and babies. The grown red-tailed hawks are of a 
grayish color with reddish-brown tails, hence their 
names. They like best to live in a low, wet, wooded 
place near open meadows, where they can soar about 
searching for food. 

Most hawks, like eagles and owls, when they once 
choose a mate remain mated for life. No birds are 
more devoted lovers or parents than hawks. But 
the birds are rather poor home-makers, though 
they build rough nests high up in some tree. From 
two to six white eggs are laid, which usually hatch 
in about four weeks. The babies are covered with 
down and are very helpless for a while; by and by 
they get feathers, which are usually darker than 
their parents’ and are striped and spotted beneath. 

These birds, like their relatives, have a habit of 
sitting on some prominent limb or pole out in the 


128 Birds the Indians Knew 

open, or flying about with outspread wings over 
some field. 

Red-tailed hawks feed on a variety of food includ¬ 
ing small mammals of a destructive character, 
snakes, frogs, insects, crawfish, centipedes and even 
carrion. It may be that sometimes when food is 
scarce this hawk will kill a few chickens or birds, 
but notwithstanding this it deserves the fullest pro¬ 
tection. Only a very few of the hawks, such as the 
Cooper’s hawk, goshawk, sharp-skinned hawk or 
blue darter, pigeon hawk, and the duck hawk or true 
falcon, should be branded as criminals. 

The sparrow-hawk is the smallest bird in this 
family, and the handsomest, and is often listed 
among the hawks that should be killed because of 
its bad habits. But after a careful survey the United 
States government says that this little hawk renders 
good service in destroying noxious insects and ro¬ 
dents and should be encouraged and protected. 
After all only a few of these little hawks were found 
to have killed birds, and the good that they do out¬ 
weighs the bad, thus giving them the right to live. 

The falcon, the hawk used so much in hawking, is 
a strong, powerful bird. But it was the peregrine fal¬ 
con, known in America as the duck hawk, that was 
preferred for this game. Its upper parts are slate 
colored, while the under parts are cream barred 
with darker shades, except the upper portion of the 
breast. These falcons live in wild places, and it was 
the females that were valued most for the game, be¬ 
cause they are so fierce and quick. The game itself 


TheRe d-T ailedHawk 129 

is an amusement of Oriental origin, in which the 
trained falcons or hawks are sent after other game. 
After being trained to catch game the birds are 
taken, hooded and leashed, to the field, where when 
the game is seen they are unhooded and loosened. 
Instead of devouring the game that they catch the 
birds bring it to their master. This was a favorite 
sport in the Middle Ages, and in recent years several 
such clubs have started in this country. 






THE GRACEFUL CONDOR 

C ONDORS are the largest birds in the vulture 
family and the biggest creatures of the air. 
They are birds of the Andes Mountains, measuring 
about three feet in length and nine and a half feet 
from the tips of their oustretched wings, with a tail 
a foot and two inches in length. Once upon a time 
a species of condor, even larger than the South 
American birds, was found along the Pacific coast 
in the United States. 

As a rule members of the vulture family have no 
feathers on their heads and the upper part of their 
necks, which enables them to feed more easily on 
carrion, which is their favorite food. Condors, like 
all vultures, are birds of prey, depending on their 

130 








The Graceful Condor 


131 


keen sight and smell for their food, but really re¬ 
lying more upon its sight than smell. Mr. Nuttall 
says that the condor was named from an Indian 
word alluding to its supposed sagacious scent. 

Large and powerful as is the condor it has never 
been known to attack man, but it kills small quad¬ 
rupeds and comes down from its lofty nest to feed 
upon the decaying flesh of dead animals. It will also 
attack sick or helpless animals unable to protect 
themselves, and after gorging itself becomes nearly 
helpless. In this condition it is easily lassoed, and 
Indians used to pursue the bird with a lasso or 
noose and capture it. When thus restrained the 
giant bird makes extra efforts to get away, and in 
doing so disgorges itself freely and becomes a fight¬ 
ing demon. Condors also sleep very soundly and so 
are often lassoed at night. 

Condors wear a white waistcoat and a brownish- 
gray collar, with a silky-down ruff between the bare 
feathered part of the neck and head, the rest of the 
plumage being black. The head and neck of Mr. 
Condor is covered with dull red skin folded in wrin¬ 
kles, and he has a comb and wattles of the same 
shade. Mrs. Condor does not have any comb and 
wattles nor does her garment contain so much white 
as that of her husband’s. It is a remarkable fact 
that the females of nearly all birds of prey are larger 
and more powerful than the males. 

The condor’s legs are short, while its sharp-point¬ 
ed, stout claws are short and considerably curved. 
Being adapted for grasping they cannot truly perch 


132 Birds the Indians Knew 

or carry objects when flying. Their strong, curved 
bills are fitted for tearing food apart, having on 
the back side toward the end a projection which is 
like a tooth and is frequently covered with naked 
membrane called cere. 

These birds fly high in the air, often at an eleva¬ 
tion of twenty thousand feet, and at this height 
they seem to glide along hour after hour without 
apparent effort, scarcely seeming to make a motion 
with their wings. They are always graceful and 
their flight without the flapping of wings is mar¬ 
velous, but as the bird descends nearer to the earth 
it can only continue this motionless flight for a 
short time. 

These strange birds nest high among the cliffs, 
laying two white eggs, which measure three to four 
inches long, in a rude nest made of a few sticks. It 
takes seven weeks for the eggs to incubate, and as it 
is difficult to reach them they have sold to museums 
for a hundred dollars each. The babies have no 
feathers at first, but are covered with whitish friz¬ 
zled hair which makes them appear to be as large as 
their parents. The youngsters resemble small owls 
and are very helpless, remaining in their nests for 
a year. Not until the children are six years old do 
they acquire the garments similar to those worn by 
their parents. 



THE GREAT HORNED OWL, KING OF OWLS 

T HE Cherokee Indians tell a strange legend about 
the great horned owl. There was once a widow 
who had only one daughter, and the mother often 
told the girl, “You must be married and then there 
will be a man to go hunting.” 

One day a man came courting the daughter and 
he asked her, “Will you marry me?” 

“I can only marry a man who will work,” replied 
the girl. 

“I am just that kind of man,” said the man, so the 
mother said that the couple might be married. 

One day the mother gave the man a hoe and told 
him, “Go and hoe the corn. When breakfast is ready 
I will call you.” 


133 

















134 Birds the Indians Knew 

When she went to call him she found that he had 
hoed only a very small piece of ground, and she won¬ 
dered what he had been doing. In a nearby thicket 
she heard some one saying, “Hoo-hoo, hoo-hoo.” The 
man did not come back until the evening and the 
mother asked him where he had been all day. 

“Hard at work,” he responded, but when the 
mother said she could not find him when she had 
come to call him he looked rather startled and re¬ 
plied, “I was out cutting sticks with which to mark 
the fields.” 

Early the next morning the man left with the hoe 
and again the mother went out to call him. But she 
found the hoe lying in the field and the man sitting 
in a thicket trying to mock a little owl. That night 
when the man came home the mother was so angry 
she drove him from the house and said that he 
should be changed into a great horned owl. 

Horned owls belong to a family made up of about 
two hundred species of birds ranging in size from 
the saw-whet owl to those as large as an eagle. As 
the emblem of wisdom the owl in the mythology of 
old Greeks was sacred to Athene, the Roman Min¬ 
erva, goddess of wisdom. With the exception of 
man this solitary and fearless inhabitant of the 
woods has few enemies, though even this owl is usu¬ 
ally worsted in a battle with weasels, minks and 
raccoons. This bird is rather bloodthirsty and seems 
to have few redeeming qualities as it likes to visit 
the poultry yard and will also destroy song birds. 

The great horned owl, also called hoot and cat 


The Great Horned Owl 


135 


owl, is known as the king of owls because of its large 
size. Mr. Great Horned Owl measures from nine¬ 
teen to twenty-three inches in length, while the fe¬ 
males measure from twenty-one to twenty-six 
inches in length. There are three distinguishing 
marks that are sufficient to tell this family of owls 
from any of their relatives. The large ear tufts that 
this family of birds have help greatly to give them 
their wise appearance. The feet and legs are cov¬ 
ered with feathers which help to protect them from 
the cold. The other conspicuous mark is that part 
of the throat and breast are white. 

These owls wear a rather handsome garb, the up¬ 
per parts being a tawny-brown variegated to pale 
buff and white. Their faces are buff and the wise 
yellow eyes are firmly set in sockets so that it is 
necessary for the owls to twist and turn to see in 
different directions. These owls have hooked beaks 
and strong, muscular feet well adapted for perch¬ 
ing and for grasping prey. Their peculiar flexible 
hind toe, which is reversible, is a great help to the 
birds. 

Great horned owls are found throughout the 
greater part of eastern North America and west to 
the Mississippi River and northward to Labrador. 
They are permanent residents wherever they range 
and will feast where other birds would starve. After 
the birds that have searched for food in the day 
time are well in bed out comes the great horned owl 
from his home in the hollow of a tree, and begins the 
hunt for food to satisfy his enormous appetite. 


136 Birds the Indians Knew 

Sometimes when these owls are quite hungry 
they will begin the search for food early in the aft¬ 
ernoon, and especially so during the hatching and 
brooding season. The birds seldom go out for food 
on a windy night or when much rain is falling as 
they depend mostly on their hearing to tell them 
where to search. Usually there is a large quantity of 
food around the nest, proving that this bird lives 
up to the old adage of providing for a “rainy day.” 

The downy wing feathers of these owls help to 
make the birds’ flight noiseless, so that the victims 
are not aware of their presence until they feel the 
owls’ sharp talons piercing in their flesh. So alert 
and quick are these owls that they often swoop 
down while flying and pick up a rabbit without ever 
ceasing their flight. 

These owls have a more piercing and weird 
scream than any of the other members of this fam¬ 
ily. Usually at the end of his day’s labors the owl 
will perch on a limb and give a loud, deep-toned cry 
which starts out with a scream like that of a woman 
in great agony and ends with a wild “Who-hoo-hoo, 
to-whoo-hoo-hoo,” which scares every living thing 
that hears it. 

These owls are very unsocial and solitary at all 
times but at the nesting season which usually begins 
in February. Mr. Great-Horned Owl is a wonderful 
wooer, performing all kinds of queer antics and mar¬ 
velous stunts to please a lady. With a leap and 
bound he flutters from the earth and skips from 
tree to tree, going through all kinds of evolutions 


The Great Horned Owl 137 

and snapping his great bill in every way. As a big 
enough hole to hold the large bodies of the owls is 
hard to find they often choose a crow’s, hawk’s or 
squirrel’s nest in which to lay their two or three 
dull-white eggs. Being laid so early the intruders 
are usually gone by the time the rightful owners of 
the home are ready for them. Mr. Great Horned Owl 
is very busy after the eggs hatch and he always 
carries all of his first catches to his mate and chil¬ 
dren. 



10 



THE BEAUTIFUL GOLDFINCH 

T HE European goldfinch resembles its American 
cousin in habits, but is one of the gaudiest of 
the little air children. It ranges throughout Europe, 
except in the northernmost regions, and a few speci¬ 
mens have been seen in eastern United States. This 
goldfinch lays four or five white eggs marked with 
purple. On account of its vivid beauty it is a favorite 
cage bird in Europe. This is the legend they tell 
over there. 

When the birds were first created, they were all 
dressed in somber gray. This displeased some of 
them very much, and they pleaded with the Creator 
to give them brighter garments. So one day He 
called all the birds together, and stood them one by 

138 












The Beautiful Goldfinch 139 


one in a line in front of Him, dipped His brush into 
the jars of rainbow colors, and gave each a separate 
and suitable frock. But the goldfinch did not come 
at the call, being very busy with something else, 
and so it happened that this little bird did not reach 
the Master till the painting had been finished. See¬ 
ing how pretty the other birds looked in their bright 
garments, the poor little goldfinch begged to be 
painted too. The colors were nearly gone, only a 
smudge remaining in each can, but the Creator said 
He would try to use the colors that were left, and 
do the best that He could. 

And such a gorgeous coat as He did give him! 
None of the other birds preening themselves and 
gazing into the mirror of water, had one so beauti¬ 
ful. His forehead and the base of his bill were paint¬ 
ed a bright crimson, his cap and sailor collar black, 
and his back brown and yellow, his breast white, 
while there was only enough golden paint left to 
paint his wings. There was just enough for all but 
the tips, which were edged with black. There was 
only enough black paint left to paint the top part 
of his tail, so the edge was tipped with white. 

When the goldfinch saw its beautiful reflection, it 
broke forth in a glad song. But the Father sighed 
and shook His head, knowing that the little bird 
must be punished in some way for the tardiness and 
vanity, and He told the goldfinch that He feared the 
gorgeous coat would give him great trouble. So it 
proved to be, for ever since the European goldfinch 
has been persecuted by human beings. 


140 Birds the Indians Knew 

The American goldfinch is about an inch smaller 
than the well-known English sparrow, and the male 
is quite a handsome bird in summer, though not so 
gayly dressed as his European relative. He is bright 
yellow, except on the crown of his head, front, wings, 
and tail, which are black, and across his wings are 
whitish bands, with white feathers on the inner 
side of his tail. He changes into an almost entirely 
different bird after moulting for winter, his head 
turning to a yellow-olive and his back to a brownish 
drab, not unlike his gay little mate. Mrs. Goldfinch 
always wears a brownish-olive dress above, with a 
yellowish-white lining. 

The American goldfinch is found in North Amer¬ 
ica, from the sunny South to the fur countries of 
the north and westward to the Rocky Mountains, 
migrating in May and October. But where food 
is plentiful, and the winters are not too severe, gold¬ 
finches may be frequently found throughout the 
winter, otherwise they spend their winters in the 
Southern States. The Western goldfinch is found 
from the plains to the Pacific Ocean, being found in 
abundance west of the Rocky Mountains. The cap, 
wings, and tail are black, and the sides of the head 
are duller than the Eastern species. 

These finches spend their winters roving about in 
bands over the country. In the summer they pre¬ 
fer to live in swamps or woodlands near water. Their 
are smaller than those of the Eastern species, 
and are laid in May and June. 

Among themselves the goldfinches are very so- 


The Beautiful Goldfinch 141 

ciable birds, and usually breed in colonies and travel 
in flocks. It is not an uncommon sight to see half a 
dozen or more goldfinches feeding on the same sun¬ 
flower, thistle, or other flower. How they do seem 
to like the gay yellow flowers in our garden, and 
somehow or other, a goldfinch always knows the 
places where he can find a nodding sunflower. But 
goldfinches, for some reason, do not seem to respond 
to the friendliness of people. You can watch them 
for a few moments, and they will keep on busily at 
work, but soon they flit silently away. 

These little gold-winged creatures build a cozy and 
compact cup-like nest, closely constructed of grasses, 
bark, vegetable fiber, and other soft materials woven 
together. They usually line their tiny cradle with 
thistledown or moss, so it will be soft and snug for 
their tiny babies. The home is usually placed in the 
crotch of a bush or tree, often twenty feet from the 
ground, and alders and willows near a stream seem 
to be the favorite trees for nesting. But now and 
then some goldfinch will build his tiny home on the 
plant they all love so well, a branching thistle. 

Except the cedar waxwings, goldfinches are the 
last birds to make their nests, seldom laying their 
four or five unmarked bluish eggs till the last part 
of July or the first of August. At this season of the 
year there is always plenty of seed to be found to 
feed the babies. Seeds make up the greater part of 
their diet. 

The song of the goldfinch is a sweet, canary-like 
warble, and is often sung as the bird rises swiftly in 


142 Birds the Indians Knew 

the air, descending with graceful undulations in a 
wavy line through the ether. Often the accents rise 
on each wave, rippling in sweet trilling notes as the 
singer conies nearer or goes farther away. The call 
is a melodious “tcheer, tcheer,” usually uttered 
when in flight. 



THE CHICKADEE 


W ITH its cheering song, “chicka-dee-dee, 
chicka-dee-dee,” here is one of our happiest 
and most active birds. This loyal little friend does 
not migrate from its home in the cold countries dur¬ 
ing winter months. Its song is heard even on stormy 
and bitter cold days, seemingly because it finds the 
world full of joy. 

The black-capped chickadees are about five inches 
in length, only a tiny bit larger than the happy 
wrens, and they are almost as gay and active. Mr. 
and Mrs. Chickadee wear the same modest, rather 
somber-colored garments. Their crown and napes 
are black, hence the name of black-capped. Above, 
their gown is gray with just a hint of brown. A lit- 

143 

















144 Birds the Indians Knew 

tie white band runs around the throats of the birds. 
This widens towards the breast, forming a dainty 
collar which is quite becoming. The waistcoats are 
a dirty white color, although there is nothing untidy 
about a neat little chickadee. The downy wings and 
tails are gray with a trimming of white. 

Anyone who is at all acquainted with the winter 
birds knows the bright little chickadees. They are 
among the most popular of our well-known and 
loved winter visitors. They are found in abundance 
in eastern North America, north of the Carolinas to 
Labrador. In the northern states they never mi¬ 
grate. During the warmer months the plump little 
creatures retire to the coolness of the woods, coming 
back out in the open with the cooler days of Sep¬ 
tember. In the southern states they migrate in late 
September and May. None of the species take long 
journeys. When they do travel they go in great 
flocks, for they are very sociable little creatures. Few 
of our birds are less shy or more friendly. They are 
among the most frequent visitors to feeding boxes, 
and will become so tame that they will readily eat 
from one’s hand. It is very interesting to watch 
them from a window in the winter. When eating 
they will stop to sing one of their gay little carols, as 
if in thankfulness for the food. 

It is very easy to know this little air messenger 
from its name alone as it is repeated again and 
again in a silvery, tinkling voice. How often a heart 
is lightened on a cold, blustering day by a cheerful 
“Chicka-dee-dee, chicka-dee-dee.” No bird, except 


The Chickadee 


145 


the wren, is more cheerful, more exultant because it 
is living. The chickadee can be coaxed almost any 
place by a good mimic. During the mating season 
the bird chants a thrilling “phe-be, phe-be,” prob¬ 
ably an endearing name in bird language. 

These birds seek a deserted woodpecker’s hole in 
which to build their homes. If that can not be found 
they make a new nursery in a decayed limb, a very 
hard task for the small carpenters. These holes are 
lined with wool, ferns, bits of bark, moss, hair, and 
anything soft and warm. Here are laid five to eight 
white eggs, sparingly spotted with brownish-red. 
The little babies are quite as happy and contented 
as their parents and it is not long till they, too, learn 
to sing as freely as their older sisters and brothers. 

Although the birds are small they defend their 
nest bravely. They will fight fiercely if their home 
and babies are in danger. The older birds always 
sleep in a hole at night. With the thick covering of 
fat that they have just beneath the skin they never 
suffer from the cold. 

Chickadees are among our most useful birds. They 
are always searching for food. All kinds of moths, 
ants, wasps, bugs, caterpillars, flies and other harm¬ 
ful and obnoxious insects are eaten. Their vegetable 
food is made up of pine seeds and the wax of poison 
ivy, thus differing from most of the birds, which eat 
the seeds of the ivy. In summer the pulp of wild 
fruit is also eaten. During the winter the birds eat 
larvae, chrysalids, and eggs of moths, varied with a 
few pine seeds. Spiders are an important item in 


146 Birds the Indians Knew 

their diet and are eaten at all seasons of the year, 
and for any meal. 

The Hudsonian chickadee is a northern bird, 
living in Canada and the northern border of the 
United States. It is seldom ever seen farther south. 
But now and then one of these little creatures is 
found in company with a flock of the black-capped 
species. These birds are even smaller than the black- 
capped species and can only be told from them by 
their black-brown color. These little creatures are 
even more social and tame than the black-capped 
species. They are especially friendly near the lum¬ 
ber camps, which they visit frequently. Their song 
is the same as that of the other chickadees. It is a 
great joy to the men as they work in the forest. 
These birds lay six or seven eggs. Their other habits 
are similar to the black-capped species. 

The Carolina chickadee is even smaller than the 
Hudsonian species, measuring only four and one- 
half inches in length. This little creature has no 
white edges to its feathers. It is a resident in the 
southeastern United States, breeding north to Vir¬ 
ginia and Ohio. All the chickadees are members of 
the titmouse family. 



THE MOURNING OR TURTLE DOVE 

T HERE is a story that is told about doves that 
will interest every boy and girl who has ad¬ 
mired their grandmother’s old Willow china. Koong 
Shee was a pretty Chinese girl who became infat¬ 
uated with her father’s secretary, Chang, and 
when her parents discovered this they were very 
angry and imprisoned the girl in the little house 
shown at the left of the picture on the dishes. Near 
the house is a lake, and the girl spent much time 
looking at the bridge and the willow, and writing 
poems telling how she wanted to be free. 

Chang smuggled messages to her enclosed in the 
shells of cocoanuts, and one day she threw into the 
lake a tiny shell with a sail attached to it. Chang 

147 











148 Birds the Indians Knew 

wandering by the shore saw the shell and rescued it 
and took out the message and read it. The meaning 
of the words were plain, that if Chang wanted the 
girl he was to rescue her, and he did. In the disguise 
of a priest he was permitted to see Koong Shee and 
they tried to escape together, but before they had 
crossed the bridge the girl’s father saw them. 

They were quick and young and soon got out of 
his reach, and taking the boat, which may be seen in 
the pictures, escaped and were married and lived in 
the little house also pictured. Here they were very 
happy until an old man, a former suitor of Koong 
Shee’s, found them and set fire to their house and 
burned it. It is said that because of their beautiful 
love the young couple was changed into a pair of 
doves, and the birds may be seen in flight right over 
the willow on all these pretty dishes. 

Frequent mention of the dove is made in the Bible 
and it holds a prominent place in literature and 
art. The dove is a symbol of love, gentleness, inno¬ 
cence, and peace. In the days of the early Chris¬ 
tian Church, the pictures of doves, carrying olive 
branches, were carved on many of the tombs found 
in the catacombs of Rome and elsewhere, these pic¬ 
tures supposing to have symbolized eternal peace. 
At present we see the “dove of peace” as a common 
feature in cartoons and other illustrations of all 
kinds. The dove is supposed to have been the bird 
that Noah sent from the Ark to see if the waters 
had receded, and which later returned with an olive 
branch to tell him that the flood had subsided. 


The Mourning or Turtle Dove 149 

It is also said that a dove rested on the head of 
Christ after his baptism, and that later in His min¬ 
istry He overthrew the seats of those that sold doves 
in the Temple. So something sacred seems to linger 
around these birds. 

Turtle or mourning doves are members of the 
pigeon family, and are the best known of this species 
of birds. They are found from Quebec to Panama 
and westward to Arizona, but they are most abun¬ 
dant and familiar in the temperate climates east of 
the Rockies. They migrate from their southern 
homes in March, returning in November, but south 
of Virginia they do not migrate. 

The name of “mourning dove” was given these 
dainty, shy birds from the plaintive cooing notes 
with which the male woos the female. “Coo-o-o-ar- 
coo-o-o, coo-o-o-ar-coo-o-o,” sounds the haunting 
voice of this bird, sounding more like a dirge than 
a rapture of song. When once heard, especially 
about dusk in some lonesome place or bit of woods, 
the effect is weird and ghostlike. All the echoes seem 
to answer and the pathetic call seems to be shouted 
from everywhere. The sound makes little quivers 
of fear, of longing, of tragedy creep over one, and 
we almost wait to see ghostlike figures come stalk¬ 
ing toward us. But the turtle dove is really not a 
sad bird at all, and is quite a gay-natured creature 
with many endearing ways. No birds are more de¬ 
voted lovers, and whenever Mr. and Mrs. Turtle 
Dove are together it reminds one of the perfect 
union of the Brownings. 


150 Birds the Indians Knew 

These birds are among our larger birds, measur¬ 
ing a foot to thirteen inches in length, and are of 
a slender build. The males wear very modest coats 
of a grayish brown or fawn color above shading into 
bluish-gray, while their crowns and upper part of 
the head is a greenish-purple-gold with several 
brighter reflections which extend down the neck. 
There is a black spot under each ear, which is rather 
conspicuous, looking like a big black button. The 
forehead and breast are a reddish-buff which gets 
lighter underneath. The two middle tail feathers 
are the longest and all the others are banded black 
tipped with ashy white. Few birds look more attrac¬ 
tive in such modest colored garments, nor are many 
so neat and tidy in appearance. Mrs. Turtle Dove 
wears a duller colored garment and lacks the bright 
reflections. The turtle dove of Europe is ashen color 
tinged with red. 

Turtle doves are very poor homemakers, laying 
their two pretty white eggs on a flimsy nest made 
of a few sticks that are loosely thrown together. 
Sometimes they build their poor little home right 
on top of an empty robin’s nest. But even if they 
are such poor home builders they are very loving 
parents and feed their babies as do flickers, pigeons 
and humming birds, that is by pumping food from 
their own crops into the young birds. 

After the nesting season turtle doves are no longer 
so shy and timid, and will let anyone approach very 
near them. They seem to like to visit yards and 
barnyards, and will walk about bowing their heads 


The Mourning or Turtle Dove 151 

in rather a comical, dignified way. Everyone who 
has seen a turtle dove knows what a whistling noise 
they make with their wings in flight. 

Turtle doves feed on grass and weed seeds and 
on waste grain, practically all of their food being 
made up of vegetable matter. Most of the weed 
seeds that they eat are of obnoxious varieties. The 
birds also consume a goodly amount of gravel to 
help digest their other food, and may frequently be 
seen in the middle of the roads taking a dust bath. 
They seem to enjoy these baths very much, and 
will often lie there for several hours, scratching the 
dust through their feathers. 





THE NIGHTHAWK 

I N summer, nighthawks are found from northern 
Canada southward to the northern part of the 
Gulf States, and from the Atlantic coast westward 
to the plains. They winter in South America, seem¬ 
ing to enjoy the wild freedom of the tropical climate. 
They are members of the goatsucker family, but 
that the birds suck goats is merely a superstition. 
The name given to this bird is erroneous, as on the 
wing they are wholly different from other hawks, 
and resemble the whippoorwill. In various localities 
the nighthawk has been called by other names, 
mostly given to the bird from its habits, such as 
nightjar, bull bat, and mosquito hawk. 

These birds are about ten inches in length, and 

152 














The Nighthawk 


153 


with wings extended, measure about twenty-three 
inches across, but when the body is shorn of their 
long feathers, it is very small, so small that we mar¬ 
vel that this bird should ever be killed for food, but 
in some places it is used for this purpose. In other 
places they are cruelly used for gun practice targets. 
Yet there are few more useful birds than these ac¬ 
tive, busy hawks. Life without insects would be im¬ 
possible to them. They destroy large numbers of 
almost every destructive and obnoxious insect and 
beetle, ants being among their favorite foods. Grass¬ 
hoppers, chinch bugs, May beetles, June bugs, and 
potato, cucumber, chestnut, and rice beetles are con¬ 
sumed in large quantities. Kill bugs, squash bugs, 
cotton boll weevil, moths, clover-leaf weevils, and 
anopheles, transmitters of the deadly malaria, are 
among other destructive insects that this bird eats. 

It is not for the beauty of its plumage, or the 
sweetness of the song, that the United States Gov¬ 
ernment is trying to protect the nighthawk, but for 
its general usefulness. 

Nighthawks may be distinguished from whippoor¬ 
wills by the conspicuous white marks on their wings, 
their nasal notes, slightly forked tail, and the habit 
of frequenting the open country. In another way 
they have been named wrongly, as they really seem 
to prefer to hunt in the later afternoon, early in the 
evening, at dawn, or on some bright moonlight 
night. 

Mr. Nighthawk wears a very inconspicuous garb 

of mottled black and white plumage, the white spots 

11 


154 Birds the Indians Knew 

almost forming a bar across his wings, which are 
plainly noticeable in flight. A broad white band also 
crosses his throat, while Mrs. Nighthawk substitutes 
buff trimmings for the white. They have enormous 
mouths, somewhat resembling a frog’s, with bristly 
hair and tipped with a minute beak. So quick and 
clever are they in flight, and so keen of sight, that 
scarcely an insect escapes their notice. 

Toward the end of the summer the nighthawk 
may be seen at nearly any hour of the day, coursing 
through the fields. Once in a while as he hunts, 
he will give a sharp cry sounding like “peent, peent, 
peent.” Sometimes the bird keeps repeating 
“k-ze-e-rt, k-ze-e-rt,” sounding like the tearing of 
cloth. 

Like the whippoorwill and some other birds, the 
nighthawks do not build a nest, but they do not— 
like the European cuckoo and cowbird—place their 
family duties on other birds. The two gray speckled 
eggs are laid on the bare ground in some sunny 
spot, or even on a rock, or on the flat top of some 
house. In the cities, where many of the buildings 
are high, with flat gravel tops, one may see these 
wild birds circling about the housetops. But they 
are usually far removed from the noise and clamor 
of the street, and are seldom disturbed. 

Nighthawks are high flyers, and are often not seen 
on this account. The weird, whirring, rushing sound 
one hears so often on summer evenings, is made by 
the wind passing through the nighthawk’s wings as 
it descends rapidly from some high flight. It was 


The Nighth awk 


155 


from this noise that in the South the bird was nick¬ 
named bull bat. Some superstitious folks say that 
this noise is a bad omen, and look upon it with ter¬ 
rible dread. Upward the bird flies, higher than the 
human eye can see, and a short time later he coasts 
downward with such force one would think he would 
be dashed to pieces. Then, when the bird nearly 
touches the ground, he gives a sudden turn and goes 
skimming away, chasing some insect, and a moment 
later repeats the whole wonderful performance. 






THE BALTIMORE ORIOLE 

N O other bird is so closely associated with the 
history of our country as is the Baltimore 
oriole, a gorgeous little creature. When Lord Balti¬ 
more sailed down the Chesapeake Bay and its tribu¬ 
taries, he discovered many of these orioles, and be¬ 
cause they wore the same colors as his livery, he 
named them in his honor. 

This bird is called by various names in different 
localities, such as hangbird, from the shape of the 
nest it builds, suspended from twigs; firebird, be¬ 
cause of its vivid orange and red coloring; and gold¬ 
en robin, for the same reason. 

Baltimore orioles range throughout North Amer¬ 
ica, east of the Rockies, breeding from New Bruns- 

156 







The Baltimore Oriole 157 

wick to Manitoba. They winter in Central America, 
where the rich coloring of the tropical foliage makes 
them much less conspicuous than in our Northern 
States. They migrate northward in early May, the 
males preceding the females. Just when the or¬ 
chards begin to bloom, great flocks of male Balti¬ 
more orioles may be seen traveling rapidly, while 
the females proceed more leisurely. They return to 
their winter home about the middle of September, 
in almost as joyful a mood as they came to us in 
the springtime. 

These orioles are from seven to eight inches in 
length. The head, throat, and upper part of Mr. 
Oriole is a glossy black that shimmers and shines in 
the sunlight, and the wings are black with white 
spots and edgings like dainty trimmings. The tail 
quills are black with yellow markings on the tip, 
and everywhere else he is a bright orange shading 
into a reddish-flame color, so vivid that it may be 
seen for a long distance. 

At first the males are dull colored like their 
mothers and sisters, and it is only by degrees that 
they are given the bright frock their fathers wear. 
The older male orioles do not change the color of 
their suits when they moult, as do bobolinks and 
goldfinches. Poor Mrs. Oriole must wear a garb of 
yellowish olive, with wings of dark brown, and quills 
margined with white, while her tail is a yellowish 
brown with dusky bars. But she seems to be quite 
contented to let her mate wear the bright colors. 

These birds are sociable little creatures, and seem 


158 Birds the Indians Knew 

to love the company of mankind. From choice they 
always build their little homes as close to houses as 
possible. 

Their diet is made up largely of insects, and they 
seem to prefer small caterpillars, certain kinds of 
beetles, and small flies. They vary their meat diet 
with fruits and seeds* most of which are found scat¬ 
tered liberally along roadsides. 

It is hard to describe the clear, querulous, varied 
whistle or warble of this oriole. The last note of its 
theme seems always to end in an upward inflection, 
as though he were asking a question. All during 
May and June the beautiful song is repeated as the 
bird flits about in the fruit trees, looking for insects 
and larvae. A richer, fuller note is caroled by the 
male as he sings to his mate during the days of 
courting. One can easily imitate the oriole’s song, 
and receive a quick response from the mystified, 
astonished bird. The music from a piano, and prob¬ 
ably from other musical instruments, excites these 
birds, and joyously singing, they will come nearer 
and nearer the sound. 

Most wonderful of all are the marvelous nests that 
these birds build. They are among the best archi¬ 
tects in the bird world, and we marvel at their great 
skill and ingenuity in constructing the wonderful 
home that they weave and suspend to some limb. 
They seem to prefer a tree with long, drooping 
branches in which to build their little palace, a 
weeping willow or an elm seeming to be their prefer¬ 
ence. The nest is a hanging structure from six to 


The Baltimore Oriole 


159 


eight inches deep, resembling a long, slender purse 
with the opening quite a distance from the nest 
proper. This protects the birds from hawks and 
other intruders, and with the overhanging leaves 
and branches, serves as a protection to the f amil y 

The nest is made up of flax, milkweed, grass, plant 
fibers, and other soft materials, especially bright- 
colored strings. The home is often used a second 
year, and because it is woven so well, will often last 
for years, although tossed about in all kinds of 
weather. When used a second year, bright-colored 
strings are gathered by the birds and woven into the 
structure to give it a fresh and new appearance. 

Five or six dull whitish eggs, with irregular dark- 
brown scrawls, are laid, and both birds defend the 
nest very courageously. Backward and forward the 
babies sway in their tiny cradle, and by and by, 
when they seem to get tired of their dark home, they 
venture toward the top. Sometimes the little fellows 
topple over, and being too weak to fly back to the 
nest, are killed by exposure or some intruder. 



BLACKBIRDS 

A FTER seeing the modest, sober garments that 
the blackbirds wear we marvel that they be¬ 
long to the same family to which the gorgeously clad 
Baltimore orioles, meadow larks, and bobolinks be¬ 
long. We can readily believe that the somber clad 
cowbirds and grackles are near relatives, but it is 
hard to conceive that the bright red-winged black¬ 
birds are such near kin. In habits, manner, and 
song the birds of this family show a great difference. 
The cowbird builds no nest at all, while the orioles 
are among the finest architects in the bird world. 

Of the several members of the blackbird family 
the rusty species is probably best known. These 
birds measure from nine to nine and a half inches 


160 























Blackbirds 


161 


in length. They are found east of the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains in North America to Newfoundland and the 
Gulf of Mexico. They are among the first harbingers 
of spring, migrating northward in early April and 
staying until late in November. Nearly all species of 
blackbirds travel in great flocks. The rusty black¬ 
birds are often seen in company with other birds. 
In their spring migrations they frequently may be 
seen along some sluggish, secluded stream, feeding 
upon the seeds of various water plants and insects. 
At these times they are very noisy, making a squeak¬ 
ing, spluttering sound which, however, is quite 
pleasing. 

When in full plumage, Mr. Rusty Blackbird wears 
a conventional suit of glossy black which has mar¬ 
velous metallic reflections interchanging with rusty 
brown. The brown color becomes more and more 
pronounced as the season advances and the newness 
wears off his suit. His pale, straw-colored eyes 
are always bright and full of mischief. Mrs. Rusty 
Blackbird wears a duller garment than her husband, 
which is of a more grayish color, and she has a light 
line over her eyes. You can easily tell her, too, be¬ 
cause she is smaller than her mate. 

The song of these birds is rather a squeaky carol, 
but not at all unmusical. The rich liquid warbling 
would be quite delightful if they did not interrupt 
themselves with discordant complaining. The black¬ 
bird’s noisy voice is among the first sounds we hear 
in the spring, and it is always a welcome sound. 

All the species of blackbirds feed upon worms, 


162 Birds the Indians Knew 

insects, fruit, and grain. From the habit they have 
of feeding on unripe grain, especially oats and wheat 
in shock, they have made the farmers look upon 
them with suspicion, but they certainly give more 
service than damage in what they destroy. If all the 
harmful and obnoxious insects and larvae that they 
consume were left to live, these tiny vermin alone 
would destroy more good grain and fruit than do the 
blackbirds themselves. 

The favorite nesting place of blackbirds is a low 
bush on the edge of a pond or some moist lowland 
or marsh. The little home is made of grass, leaves, 
and mud. Three to five pale blue eggs, streaked and 
spotted with blackish-purple, are laid. The babies 
are quite as noisy and cheerful as their parents and 
are forever demanding food. 

D. M. Mulock has written a pretty little poem 
about this bird: 

A slender young Blackbird built in a thorn tree: 

A spruce little fellow as ever could be; 

His bill was so yellow, his feathers so black, 

That good Mrs. B., who sat hatching her eggs, 
And only just left them to stretch her poor legs, 
And pick for a minute the worm she preferred, 
Thought there never was such a beautiful bird. 

The crow blackbird, known as the purple grackle, 
is found in the eastern United States from the Gulf 
of Mexico to Massachuetts. Mr. Crow Blackbird has 
a purple head and wears an irridescent black coat 
with reflections of green, purple, violet, and copper, 


Blackbirds 


163 


barred with black. His bright yellow eyes are very 
conspicuous. His wings are longer than his tail. 
Mrs. Crow Blackbird is a brownish gray. These birds 
are not so sociable and happy as the rusty black¬ 
birds, but they are among the first of the birds to 
migrate northward in spring. Their song is a very 
squawky note. Their favorite call is a harsh “tchack, 
tchack.” 

Mr. Brewer Blackbird has a purplish head and a 
greenish body, while his wife wears a grayish brown 
gown. This blackbird may be distinguished from the 
other species by its trough-shaped tail, plainly no¬ 
ticeable in flight. These birds breed in the west, 
east to Texas, Kansas and Minnesota, and north to 
southern Canada, wintering over most of the United 
States and south to Guatemala. Caterpillars form 
the largest part of their animal diet. 





S EVERAL different families of wrens are found in 
abundance in North America. All are small, ac¬ 
tive birds with slender beaks, rounded wings, and 
erect tails, and all have brown or grayish plumage 
barred and mottled with black. Wrens have mar¬ 
velous powers of song, and also disagreeable voices 
that sound very harsh when they are quarreling. 
All are ground birds, and live mostly upon insects. 

The cactus wren is the largest member of the fam¬ 
ily, and inhabits the southwestern border of the 
United States, ranging from southern Texas to Cali¬ 
fornia. A bed of cactus is their favorite resort, and 
their nests are large, purse-shaped structures placed 
in one of these thorny plants. Four or five creamy 

164 














The Wrens 


165 


white eggs are laid, and two or three broods are 
often raised in a season. 

The rock wren is found in the dry foothills of the 
Rocky Mountain regions and westward to the 
Pacific, wintering in the southwestern United States. 
Because of their color and habits, one can scarcely 
see them among the rocks. Their song resembles 
that of a canary, being very wild and sweet. Their 
nest is made of sticks, weeds, and grass, in the crev¬ 
ices of rocks. Five or six white eggs, slightly speckled 
with reddish brown, are laid. 

The Berwick wren, like all the other species, is very 
restless and active, and delights in climbing over 
fallen logs, fences, trees, stumps, and peering into 
every little crevice. It is found in the Mississippi 
Valley and the plains, north to South Dakota, and 
eastward to the Alleghany Mountains. Its song is a 
carol of melodious notes. 

The Carolina wren is a shy species found in the 
Southern States, breeding from the Gulf northward 
to Connecticut and Illinois. It, too, seems to prefer 
forest undergrowths near water, fallen logs and 
bushes, and delights in sitting with its tail erect over 
its shapely head, and singing. The notes, loud and 
tinkling, are impossible to describe, but resemble 
“whee-udel, whee-udel” endlessly repeated. The nest 
is made in brush heaps or holes in trees, but this 
wren will also build in boxes, as does the house wren. 
Five to seven white eggs, speckled with brown, are 
laid. 

The short-billed marsh wren and the long-billed 


166 Birds the Indians Knew 

marsh wren are at home among the reeds and cat¬ 
tails found growing in the marshes. They range 
throughout the United States and southern Canada, 
migrating in May and September. Both birds are 
dainty, active little creatures with lovable and en¬ 
dearing ways. 

Winter wrens are the tiniest members of this fam¬ 
ily, and the stoutest built, being only four inches in 
length. They look very coquettish with their short 
tails waving over their heads. These wrens wear a 
garment which is a bright cinnamon color above and 
paler underneath, and the sides, wings, and tail are 
heavily barred with black. They are found in abun¬ 
dance in eastern North America and southward and 
westward to the great plains. They make their tiny 
home in brush heaps, tin cans, hollow stumps, and 
in any crevice or nook that meets with their ap¬ 
proval. Their song is very sweet and rippling, though 
not so musical as that of the house wren. It sounds 
very beautiful when heard some stormy winter day. 

There are very few who do not know the house 
wren, the dear little bird with the cinnamon-brown 
cloak barred and obscured with lighter and darker 
shades. There is no more sociable and lovable bird 
than these little creatures, and how they delight to 
sing to us. They are found in abundance in North 
America from Manitoba to the Gulf, wintering south 
of the Carolinas. They migrate in April, and their 
rippling, joyous song is often heard before spring 
has touched the earth in beauty. They do not depart 
until October, and it is a sad time when the song 


The Wrens 


167 


of the last wren is heard. No bird pours out a more 
joyous and rapturous song, and there never was a 
more tireless, energetic, and brilliant singer. 

Year after year the wrens return to the same 
boxes, crevices, and other nesting sites, asking only 
that the last year’s nests be removed. 

Strangest of all, Mr. Wren begins to carry twigs 
to the site chosen for a nest before he finds a mate, 
but the day she comes, how he does bubble over with 
song. And all the time that Mrs. Wren helps with 
the house building her active little mate works 
harder and harder. 

No man can estimate the great quantities of in¬ 
sects and vermin that these little midgets destroy, 
and it pays in every way to encourage them to visit 
your homes. They will gladly come. 

As Kate M. Post says: 

The chimney belongs to the swallows, 

The piazza’s owned by the wren; 

We’ll take care to see our title’s clear, 

When we purchase a farm again. 



THE WOODCOCK 

T HE woodcock is one of the most interesting and 
odd of our birds, and like the owl feeds at 
night, hiding during the day amid leaves and 
grasses. Its dark brown plumage barred with black 
and reddish colors blends perfectly with the various 
wood tones, and keeps it from being easily discov¬ 
ered. Both the American and European woodcocks 
belong to the snipe family, and their eyes are placed 
in the upper corner of their triangular-shaped 
heads, which makes it difficult for them to see on 
the ground while feeding. Many think that like owls 
they can see best at night, therefore have night 
habits. 

The real reason is probably because worms come 
168 




















The Woodcock 


169 


to the surface then, and as this makes up their diet 
they desire to find as many as possible. The birds 
have long, straight, stout bills that are so sensitive 
they can collect their food with the mere touch of 
them. Woodcocks never scratch with their feet, 
though their legs are strong, but always dig with 
their bills. The upper half is flexible to the tip, and 
works independently of the lower one. 

The American woodcock is from ten to eleven 
inches long and has indistinct black lines on the 
front of the head, and another from bill to eye, 
while across the back of its head are three buff bars. 
The bird breeds from Montreal and the northern 
United States to the Gulf, wintering in the South 
Atlantic and Gulf States, but are residents in their 
range all but through the very coldest months. 

The bird has a short thick neck and a com¬ 
pounded round body, which helps to give its bill 
strength. It has short legs and wings which makes 
its flight awkward. It is very interesting to watch a 
flock of birds feeding, and they often eat half a 
pound of worms in twenty-four hours, making their 
tiny bodies bulge out. Down goes the bill, sinking 
to the nostrils in some soft earth, and one after an¬ 
other it draws out the worms and gulps them down. 
They like to frequent corn-lands and other places 
where the earth is soft and moist. 

Woodcocks migrate silently by night, and in April 
each bird selects a mate and starts building its 
nest. The little home is made of grass in a hollow 

stump, or in a tuft of dense growth in the woods, 

12 


170 Birds the Indians Knew 


usually near a stream. The nest is formed with very 
little skill and is awkward and bulky, but serves the 
purpose of a home. Four rather large buff-colored 
eggs are laid, marked with brown. Early in spring 
while his mate sits on the nest the male entertains 
her with all kinds of antics. He is almost as lovely 
and as good a diver as the lark, darting into the air 
he alights crying “pink, pink” in startling tones, 
then up he goes again, his body pointing every way. 
Darting, circling, swaying, diving he plunges 
through the air, his short stiff wings no longer awk¬ 
ward, and all the while whistling as he goes higher 
and higher. 

The bride looks on in admiration. Faster and 
faster, higher and higher he goes, sweeping in 
erratic circles, and then with a sharp whistle he 
comes abruptly down. Finally he alights and after 
singing pink, pink ’ in his best tones he is off again. 
Toward evening there comes a time extending over 
a number of days before the cares of parenthood 
crush the buoyant spirits of the woodcock, when the 
male darts through the air, changing his song from 
the day to “blaik, blaik,” followed by the more mu¬ 
sical “paip, paip.” 

When disturbed the woodcock escapes with an 
owl-like flight and often when danger seems near 
the nest the bird will pretend it is lame or hurt, thus 
trying to lead the intruder in the opposite direction. 
In time the fluffy, long-billed birds are hatched, and 
it is a pretty sight to see them with their parents 
searching for food. The little birds peep about like 


The Woodcock 


171 


a chicken. Often when the parents think their 
brood is in danger and wish to move them they will 
take the young birds between their thighs. 

The European woodcock is larger than the Ameri¬ 
can species and its habits and characteristics are 
wholly different. It is found in Java, New Guinea, 
Great Britain and the frigid wilds of Sweden, Rus¬ 
sia and Norway, even going to the icy shores of 
Greenland and the heaths of Iceland. The female is 
greatly attached to the nest, and has been known 
to have remained when a person was near enough 
to touch it. These birds have been hunted so severe¬ 
ly that they are fast disappearing, being considered 
one of the best game fowls. 










THE HUMMING BIRD 

S CIENTISTS claim that there are more than four 
hundred species of humming birds in existence, 
but of these only about eighteen inhabit the United 
States. All but one group, the ruby-throated hum¬ 
ming bird, belong to the southwestern and Pacific 
coast states. Humming birds are found only in the 
American continents, and all are tiny creatures, the 
largest being eight inches in length. This species is 
found in South America. All members of this family 
have been named with reference to the whirring 
sound made by their tiny wings when in rapid flight. 

Mr. Ruby-throat is a wonderful creature wearing 
a metallic green cloak above, his wings and tail be¬ 
ing the darkest, with ruddy, purplish reflections, 

172 







The Humming Bird 


173 


and dusty white tips on his outer tail feathers. His 
throat is a brilliant red in one light, a flaming 
orange in another light, and looks another color in 
another light. His sides are greenish, full of reflec¬ 
tions and shades, and underneath he is light gray 
with a whitish border outlining his brilliant breast. 
Mrs. Ruby-throat, like so many other lady birds, 
wears a less brilliant garment, lacking the bright 
feathers on the throat, and being deeper gray under¬ 
neath. 

Of them Mrs. Claribel Weeks-Avery has written: 

Golden and green like a daffy-down-dilly, 

Bright as a jewel of topaz and jade, 

Poising on whirring wings, under a lily, 

Gold in the sunshine and green in the shade. 

It is not really the shade of the feathers which gives 
the humming bird its beautiful color, but the refrac¬ 
tion of light on the tiny feathers. 

Most of the humming birds winter in South or 
Central America, traveling northward in May, when 
the flowers that they love best begin to bloom, and 
going back in October, when goldenrod and asters 
are making the waysides bright. Any one with a 
garden can plant flowers that will coax these little 
air children to visit their homes, and as they are 
very social birds, they become quite tame. Any gar¬ 
den in which gladioli are grown is sure to have hum¬ 
ming birds among its visitors, and how they seem to 
delight going down into the deep flowers and sway¬ 
ing back and forth in them. 


174 Birds the Indians Knew 


Strangely enough, these little creatures seem to 
prefer the bright-colored flowers, and probably be¬ 
cause the more fragrant flowers contain the most 
nectar, they are favorites of these birds. The jewel 
weed, coral honeysuckle, bee balm, cardinal flower, 
columbine, trumpet vine, magnolia, and jasmine 
seem to be great favorites, but the birds will visit 
the canna, nasturtium, phlox, narcissus, rose, and 
various other flowers. 

Nearly all humming birds are accomplished trav¬ 
elers, and fly over great stretches of country. No 
bird is more clever in the air, and some of their 
flights and actions when flying are marvelous. Often 
you see one of these little creatures poised in mid¬ 
air whirring his tiny wings back and forth. 

Few birds have such irritable tempers, and a fight 
between two of these tiny creatures in the air is a 
sight that will never be forgotten. They dart at each 
other with their long, sharp bills with all the fury 
and force of two great armies opposing each other. 
In defending their nests they are vicious little crea¬ 
tures, and fight with courage till either they are 
overcome or route the intruder. When stripped of 
their feathers, the smallest humming birds are no 
larger than a bumble bee, and one marvels how so 
much vitality, endurance, and individuality can be 
found in such a little body. But no bird is better 
fitted for a pioneer life, and all humming birds take 
long journeys, even in the most stormy weather. 

The humming bird s stomach is much smaller in 
proportion to its body than that of other birds, and 


The Humming Bird 


175 


its liver much larger, which indicates a nectar diet. 
But not all the humming bird’s food is gathered 
from flowers, even though it has been given such a 
long bill and forked tongue to enable it to extract 
the honey from the deep-throated blossoms. If one 
watches carefully, he will see these tiny creatures 
dart about, when on the wing, like flycatchers, gath¬ 
ering tiny insects. Then they can often be seen hov¬ 
ering about in front of cobwebs, waiting to snatch 
some unfortunate spider or other minute insect. 

No bird seems to like to bathe better than do the 
ruby-throated humming birds. In the morning they 
often take a splash in a dew-filled flower cup. Then 
at night the little creatures may be seen taking an¬ 
other bath and preening their feathers. Perhaps Na¬ 
ture thought she had given humming birds more 
than their share of beauty, so she bestowed upon 
them no kind of song. The only sound they make is 
a rather faint, sharp cry. 

Mrs. Humming Bird is one of the most expert 
house-builders among the bird families, and her 
home is like an exquisite jewel. The tiny nest has 
been compared to a lady’s watch, and the small eggs 
to diamonds. Shreds of bark, soft grass, bits of 
plant down, and cat-tail are used in the construc¬ 
tion of the tiny round home. It is often built over a 
branch, looking like a tiny knot on the limb of the 
tree. Frequently the mother covers the outer side 
with lichen and bark to make it blend more har¬ 
moniously with the background and surroundings. 
During the nesting season the father is bolder than 


176 Birds the Indians Knew 


ever, and is a fierce little soldier, using his bill as 
if it were a mighty sword. 

In June two tiny white eggs are laid, which soon 
hatch, and the babies keep their parents busy. The 
young are fed like pigeons, the parents pumping the 
food down their little throats. They are scarcely 
larger than a big fly, but they grow very fast, and 
in about three weeks’ time are ready to fly. 

Anna’s humming bird, a California species, is one 
of the most widely known species in the Western 
States. It is even more brilliantly colored and active 
than the ruby-throat. 



THE WOOD THRUSH 


I N speaking of the melodious flutelike voice of the 
wood thrush, Dr. Chapman, a naturalist, says, 
“It is a message of hope and good cheer in the morn¬ 
ing, a benediction at the close of the day.” The wood 
thrush belongs to the highest order of songsters, and 
possesses one of the finest voices in the bird king¬ 
dom, having a wide range of songs composed of 
many notes. 

Often two birds in trees some distance apart keep 
calling back and forth from one to the other: “Here 
am I, here am I, here am I.” Three times sound the 
clear, delicious, rich bell-like tones, pure and pene¬ 
trating like the chords of a harp. But it is in the 
evening, and especially during the mating season, 

177 




















178 Birds the Indians Knew 

that they sing their finest. What a beautiful liquid, 
“Nolee-a-a-o-lee-lee-nol-lee-aeol-ee-lee,” rises and 
falls in the air, then is caught up again and goes 
echoing far away, leaving behind a dreamy quiet¬ 
ness. The birds sing well into July. 

In his book, Useful Birds and Their Protection, 
Mr. E. H. Forbush has written: “The song of the 
wood thrush is one of the finest specimens of bird 
music that America can produce. Among all the 
bird songs that I have heard it is second only in 
quality to that of the hermit thrush. It is not pro¬ 
jected upon the still air with the effort that charac¬ 
terizes the bold and vigorous lay of the robin, or the 
loud and intermittent carol of the thrasher. Its 
tones are solemn and serene. They seem to harmo¬ 
nize with the sounds of the forest, the whispering 
breeze, the purling waters, or the falling of rain¬ 
drops in the woods. As with most other birds, there 
is a great difference in the excellence of individual 
performers, and while some males of the species can 
produce such notes as few birds can rival, this can¬ 
not be said of all. 

“At evening the bird usually mounts to the higher 
branches of the taller trees, often upon the edge of 
the forest, where nothing intervenes to confine or 
subdue his ‘heavenly music.’ There, sitting quite 
erect, he emits his wonderful notes in the most 
leisurely fashion, and apparently with little effort. 
‘A-olle,’ he sings and rests; then, unhurried, pours 
forth a series of intermittent strains, which seem to 
express in music the sentiment of nature; powerful, 


The Wood Thrush 


179 


rich, metallic, with the vanishing vibratory tones of 
the bell, they seem like a vocal expression clothed 
in a melody so pure and ethereal that it can neither 
be imitated nor described. The song rises and falls, 
swells and dies away, until dark night has fallen. 
The alarm note of the bird is a sharp pit, pit, several 
times repeated; this alarm often rises to a long roll. 
A soft cluck, also repeated, is sometimes heard. A 
mellow, liquid chirp is another common note.” 

Wood thrushes are the largest, most brightly col¬ 
ored, and probably the most neighborly of a large 
family of birds including two hundred and forty 
species. They are about eight or eight and a third 
inches in length, being not quite so large as the 
robin. They range throughout the eastern part of 
the United States, breeding from southern South 
Dakota and New Hampshire south to Texas and 
Florida. They winter in southern Mexico, Nicara¬ 
gua, and Costa Rica, but are sometimes found as far 
north as New Jersey. Throughout the south this 
bird is better known as the woodrobin. These birds 
especially like to inhabit swamps and moist wood¬ 
lands, from which they probably received their 
names. 

The upper part of the wood thrush’s head is a 
shining brown, shading into a brownish red on the 
shoulders, which gradually runs into an olive brown 
toward the tail. Underneath the bird is white, 
marked with very characteristic spots, and heavily 
spotted on the breast. Every gesture and motion is 
graceful and charming. 


180 Birds the Indians Knew 

Wood thrushes are well protected by the govern¬ 
ment, for they consume quantities of destructive in¬ 
sects, beetles, bugs and larvae. Grasshoppers, snails, 
potato bugs, caterpillars, spiders, and the larvae of 
many moths help to make up the varied diet. They 
also eat some wild fruit and berries, and now and 
then may steal into the cultivated garden and help 
themselves, but they do such a great amount of good 
that they deserve the greatest protection. 

The little home is usually built in the fork or hori¬ 
zontal bough of a tree from six to ten feet from the 
ground. The building of the nest is a hard task, for 
wood thrushes are particular architects, and it takes 
a good bit of labor for them to get the nest as they 
want it. Dead leaves, bits of paper and rags, weeds, 
grass, and other materials are used to make the nest, 
twigs being used to make the framework of the little 
mansion. The inner materials are plastered securely 
together with mud, and then lined with soft rootlets. 

Four light greenish-blue eggs are laid, and while 
sitting, the mother bird becomes quite tame, and 
may be easily approached. The babies are nervous 
and fidgety, and seem to give the mother and father 
considerable trouble. But by and by, when they get 
a little larger, the proud parents seem to take great 
pride in their active little brood. 





T HE English settlers often told their legends to 
the Indians. Many of these English legends be¬ 
came a part of the lore of the Indians. One of these 
legends is a quaint story of the coming of the 
meadowlark, that shy, elusive bird known so well to 
many country girls and boys. It is said that at the 
beginning of the world all the birds were gray, but 
through various transformations they came to their 
present coloring. One day a little old man, with 
rather gorgeously colored clothes of yellow, brown, 
black and white, was tramping through the fields, 
when one of the myriads of gray birds circling 
around flew down and lit on the man’s hat. 

The little fairies, laughing and dancing in a near- 

181 
































182 Birds the Indians Knew 

by field, saw the bird and clapped their hands in 
glee. At last a wise-looking little fairy spoke and 
this is what she said: “We have tried so hard to 
help make this world better and more beautiful that 
I have just been wondering if I might suggest some¬ 
thing to the queen.” The queen, a most charming 
little midget, was present and readily gave her con¬ 
sent, for she was very eager to do all she could to 
help make everything good and attractive. 

“Well,” began the fairy who had first spoken, “as 
I stood here watching that bird on that funny man’s 
hat I just wondered why we couldn’t change its gray 
feathers into those nice colors of the man’s coat and 
other clothes. They are really too bright for him to 
wear, and they would look beautiful on the bird.” 

For a minute the queen stopped and looked more 
closely at the approaching man, with the bird still 
sitting on his shabby black hat, and then she raised 
her wand and waved it. A minute later the plain 
little gray bird had been changed into a meadow¬ 
lark with a conspicuous black crescent on his breast. 
The bird wore no other colors, except those that had 
been in the clothing the man wore. 

Meadowlarks generally breed from Newfoundland 
to the Gulf of Mexico and westward to the Plains. 
The Western meadowlark is found from the Plains 
to the Pacific, while the Florida meadowlark is found 
in the southern states. The birds winter from the 
Ohio and Potomac Valleys and District of Columbia 
southward, but are sometimes found as far north as 
Massachusetts and Illinois. They are among the 


The Meadowlark 


183 


earliest of birds to migrate northward and frequent¬ 
ly arrive in the central states in March, though 
April is their regular migrating month. They are 
in no hurry to return to their southern homes, not 
leaving till late in October. 

Our meadowlarks, though differing much in song, 
resemble one another closely in plumage and habits, 
but the Florida species is smaller and darker. The 
western species is more brilliant and vari-colored, 
and its song is mueh louder, clearer and more me¬ 
lodious. There are few people who live in the coun¬ 
try who are not familiar with the flute-like whistle 
of this bird, which is heard frequently, especially 
early in spring, and although not a marvelous song, 
sounds very pleasing at that time of year. It is 
true that many of the songs of birds sound very 
sweet to us in the springtime, which later on when 
we become more accustomed to their music again, 
sounds rather grating and harsh. 

These little creatures have several carols that 
they whistle in about the same note sounding like 
“tseeu, tseeu,” or something like “spring-o’-the- 
year, spring-o’-the-year.” Children like to fancy 
that the bird calls out the latter notes when the soft 
blue April skies and threatening rain clouds make 
them think of May flowers. When alarmed the bird 
utters a nasal, sputtering note, and quickly flies 
away, then a short time later alights on a fence 
rail or low perch. 

This bird is not a true lark, nor are they even 
closely related to the famous larks of the Old World. 


184 Birds the Indians Knew 

Meadowlarks really belong to the same family that 
blackbirds and orioles do, though one would never 
suppose such a relationship. In many localities this 
attractive little bird is classed and shot as a game 
bird, a very cruel and unjust practice. The farmers 
have few better friends than these birds who destroy 
a large amount of obnoxious and injurious insects 
and beetles. Grasshoppers seem to be their favorite 
food and it is surprising what a large amount they 
consume every month of the year. Caterpillars too 
are eaten nearly every day and for as many meals 
as they can be found. Boll weevils, the little insects 
that cause so much annoyance and devastation to 
cotton growers, are devoured by meadowlarks, as 
is also the alfalfa weevil. These birds vary their diet 
with a bit of vegetable food made up of waste grain 
and weed seeds. Meadowlarks are even more useful 
birds to the farmer and fruit grower than most, for 
if need be the bird can exist on either a whole vege¬ 
table or exclusively on animal food, without any 
serious effect. 

Meadowlarks prefer living in grassy plains and 
uplands covered with a thick growth of grass or 
weeds, near water. It is in these surroundings that 
they can glean the most desirable food, and not be¬ 
ing fond of flying, they dislike to travel far for their 
meals. Their long, slender bills are a great help in 
snapping up insects, and their short tail and long, 
strong legs make walking easy. They have large 
claws, that also are well adapted for walking 
purposes. 


The Meadowlark 


185 


The birds vary in size, measuring from ten to 
eleven inches. Mr. Meadowlark is more brightly 
dressed than Mrs. Meadowlark, but both wear about 
the same colored clothes, which is more gray in win¬ 
ter so as to be less showy. The upper parts are brown, 
varied to chestnut, deep brown and black, while the 
crown is streaked brown and black, with a queer 
cream-colored streak through the center. Above the 
eyes appear two different lines, one being dark 
brown and the other yellow. High up on the breast 
is a round black spot looking like a bib, and under¬ 
neath the bird is yellow. The outer tail-feathers are 
white, and scarcely show while the bird is walking 
about, but are quite conspicuous in flight. The birds 
have a queer habit of turning their backs to a per¬ 
son, when they see him approaching, as if to hide 
the bright yellow spots on their breast. 

The nests are made of grass in a meadowland or 
marsh, and are frequently arched over with grasses. 
No other bird’s home is in such danger of being de¬ 
stroyed by passersby as is the meadowlark’s. 

Three to five white eggs, speckled with brown, are 
laid, and the mother hovers over them in anxious 
eagerness till the babies appear. The first brood is 
usually large enough to skip about, out of harm’s 
way by the time the mowing machines come through 
the grass fields and over the little home but by that 
time, usually, another nest of eggs has been laid. 
The frightened little mother jumps up, just before 
the sickle is ready to crush her, runs a few feet and 
then flies away, sadly crying for her lost home. 

13 



THE INDIGO BUNTING 

I T is almost impossible to realize that the indigo 
bunting is a near relative of the drab-colored 
sparrow, possessing many of his traits, and feeding 
mainly on seeds of grasses and herbs, and insects 
and larvae found on the ground. Thoreau called 
the male’s beautiful coat of blue, “glowing indigo.” 
It has frequently been compared to the sky, but is 
more intense. Mr. Indigo Bunting’s plumage is diffi¬ 
cult to describe, for in various lights his coat, with 
the exception of his head, seems to undergo an en¬ 
tire change. 

Sometimes the color ripples and changes like the 
waves on a lake, and then the blue seems to be 
tinted greenish shades and reflections, then other 

186 





The Indigo Bunting 


187 


markings and hues show, but part of the wings and 
tail feathers are always a brown, and the head and 
chin a rich indigo. The bill and feet are dark. But 
Mrs. Indigo Bunting dresses much like a sparrow, 
having a brownish back and a yellowish gray-green 
breast, only faint indications of blue can be seen in 
her wings and tail. 

A queer change takes place in the plumage of the 
male when he is two years old or older. Alexander 
Wilson, the great American ornithologist, describes 
it in this manner: “There is one singularity, that in 
some lights his plumage appears of a rich sky blue, 
and, in others, of vivid verdigris green; so that the 
same bird in passing from one place to another be¬ 
fore your eyes seems to undergo a total change of 
color. . . . From this, however, must be excepted 
the color of the head, which is not affected by the 
change of position.” 

Indigo buntings are found east of the Rockies, be¬ 
ing most abundant in North America from the Hud¬ 
son Bay to Panama. They winter in Central America 
and Mexico, migrating north about the latter part 
of May and staying until September. They like best 
to live along roadsides lined with small trees and 
bushes, or in pastures along the edges of swamps. 
Indigo buntings are not quite so large as the com¬ 
mon field sparrows, nor yet as small as the chippies. 
They are rather timid birds, and are never seen 
around a dwelling, nor do they seem to be very so¬ 
ciable, each family living to itself. 

Mrs. Indigo Bunting builds the little home, while 


188 Birds the Indians Knew 


her husband sits upon a high bough, which seems 
to be his favorite perch, singing to her. The nest is 
made very loosely of grass, twigs, roots, hair, bits of 
bark, and dead leaves, and is placed low in a bush 
or shrub. It takes twelve days for the eggs to hatch, 
and while the mother is sitting, her husband sings 
to her from a tree top in the neighboring field. But 
he seems carefully to avoid the nest, and never tries 
to hide, probably thinking that his bright coat could 
never be hidden. 

The mother feeds the babies little green worms 
and grasshoppers, and it keeps her quite busy to 
provide enough food for her growing family. Indigo 
bunting babies are very active, and the second day 
after they are hatched, hop all about the nest, and 
soon start trying to fly. Apparently the only help 
that the father gives in rearing his children is in 
helping to teach them to fly. The flight of all bunt¬ 
ings is short, and seems to be rather hard, lacking 
grace and ease of motion. 

The song of this bird is pretty but not extra¬ 
ordinary. It varies with different birds, some ap¬ 
pearing to be much better singers than others. 
Their usual note sounds like a series of canary-like 
warbles, constantly repeated and rising in height 
with each new utterance. They also have a metallic 
call that resembles “cheep, cheep,” uttered in slow 
repetition. 

Alexander Wilson calls the bunting a “vigorous 
and pretty good songster,” as he sits in the highest 
tree top and chants his lay. 



I N Europe cuckoos are known as “the darlings of 
the spring” because there they are as much har¬ 
bingers of the gladsome springtime as the bluebird 
and robin are in this country. 

There are about two hundred known species of 
cuckoos living in warm countries, of which only two 
inhabit the United States and eastern Canada. 
These two species, the black-billed and yellow-billed 
cuckoos, are not really well known, because of their 
quiet and retiring habits. It is rather hard to make 
the acquaintance of these birds, as they flit about 
in the deepest recesses of the woods. Even when they 
feel sure no one is watching them, they fly stealth¬ 
ily from tree to tree, as if afraid of being seen or 

189 











190 Birds the Indians Knew 

heard. At the slightest noise they disappear among 
the leaves in the topmost branches, where they can 
scarcely be seen. 

Cuckoos are rather slender, shapely birds, being 
about a foot in length. They are easily distinguished 
from any other bird by their sharp, arched bills, 
which are as long as their heads. The color of the 
bills is the chief distinguishing mark between the 
two species found in this country. The under part 
of the yellow-billed cuckoo’s bill is a deep yellow, 
while that of the black-billed species is black. They 
have peculiarly shaped toes, two of them turning 
forward and two backward, which especially adapts 
them to clinging instead of climbing. 

The plumage of both species of birds is olive brown 
with bronze tints, making a shade known as rufous 
when applied to the color of birds. The yellow-billed 
cuckoos are a shade lighter than their relatives, and 
they also have white outer tail feathers tipped with 
black, like thumb-nail marks, while the black-billed 
species have reddish spots about their eyes. 

Both families of cuckoos are known as rain crows, 
for many people think they can foretell the weather, 
because on damp, cloudy days they can often be 
heard singing. But the real reason is that the 
cuckoos prefer misty weather to sunshiny days. On 
account of their deep, mournful notes they are 
looked upon by many people with superstitious awe. 
The song of the European cuckoo, which really is 
sweet and melodious, has inspired many poets to 
writing beautiful poems. 


The Cuckoo 


191 


The song of the yellow-billed cuckoo sounds like 
“kuk-kuk-kuk,” but it lacks any sweetness and 
beauty. The black-billed species chants, or rather 
croaks in a guttural tone “con, con, con, con,” many 
times, raising and dropping its broad flat tail with 
each repetition. The song soon becomes monotonous 
and wearisome. 

The yellow-billed species is the most abundant in 
the southern part of its range, breeding from the 
Gulf to southern Canada and wintering in Central 
America. The black-billed species is found from the 
eastern part of this country to southern Canada and 
west to the Rockies. They migrate northward in 
May, leaving again for their winter homes in Sep¬ 
tember. 

In some places the cuckoo is looked upon with dis¬ 
favor, because it is thought that, like the European 
species, it lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. 
But this is not true of these cuckoos, for though 
their home is very rude, still it serves the purpose 
of a nest. A flat, shabby platform of twigs placed 
at a low elevation in a thicket or the lower branches 
of a tree is all the nest they make. Mrs. Cuckoo 
does most of the work, and, though the house is 
rather untidy, the birds seem to be very proud of 
their little domicile. But they are very sensitive 
about having their home touched, and if they are 
aware that their nest has been examined, they will 
desert it. 

Four dull greenish-blue eggs are laid, those of the 
yellow-billed species being a lighter shade and a bit 


192 Birds the Indians Knew 

larger. The day before the babies leave the nest, 
they are thickly covered with sharp-pointed pin 
feathers, which makes them look like tiny porcu¬ 
pines. But in twenty-four hours they are garbed in 
a fine coat of shining feathers, and a few days after 
they start flying, they are strong enough to make 
the long trip from the northernmost part of their 
range to their winter homes. It is amazing how 
fast the babies do grow. 

Cuckoos are among our most valuable birds, con¬ 
suming large quantities of hairy caterpillars that 
are so destructive, and which so few other birds will 
eat. They also eat large numbers of beetles, grass¬ 
hoppers, katydids, locusts, and other harmful in¬ 
sects. The larger part of their food consists of these 
insects, but they will also eat wild fruits, and seem 
especially to relish wild mulberries. 





I N southern France they tell the boys and girls a 
queer legend about the coming of the blue jay. 
Once there were two little girls, who were very dear 
friends, named Zacia and Tourtourelle. They told 
each other of their dreams in which they thought 
they were birds, so one day in fun they planned that 
the first one up in the morning should be a bird. 
Zacia went to bed early and to sleep, hoping to be 
the first one up, but Tourtourelle was afraid she 
would oversleep if she went to bed, so she did not 
go at all. When the first sunbeams came streaming 
through the window, Zacia awoke and the first thing 
that she noticed she found she was covered with soft 
blue feathers. She was so happy, and hearing a lark 

193 













194 Birds the Indians Knew 

sing, mocked him, and that is how the little girl 
was turned into a jay and has been happy ever since. 

Blue jays are members of a family consisting of 
about two hundred species, including ravens, 
crows, and magpies, and are found in every country 
of the world except Australia. The vivacious blue 
jays are found on the eastern coast of North Amer¬ 
ica, westward to the plains, from northern Canada 
to Florida and eastern Texas, subspecies being found 
in other parts of this country. They are permanent 
residents throughout their ranges, though often 
one sees flocks of them flying about, they are only 
in search of better feeding grounds. 

With the exception of the cardinal, none of our 
winter birds wear quite as handsome gowns as do 
the blue jays, and no bird is more dignified and 
kingly looking. The birds measure from eleven to 
twelve inches in length, being somewhat larger than 
a robin. Mr. and Mrs. Blue Jay wear the same hand¬ 
some clothes, being a metallic blue above, and wear¬ 
ing a black band around the throat, which joins 
with more black feathers on the back of the neck, 
like a pair of beads with a locket at the end. Their 
waistcoats are a dusky white, contrasting beautifully 
with the rich blue upper portions. The wing coverts 
and the tail are a wonderful blue, like a bit of the 
bluest skies of October or June, and are barred with 
black, giving them a handsome appearance. The 
tail is very much rounded and contains many 
feathers, each carefully tipped with white; few birds 
can boast of such a wonderful tail. 



ZACIA AND TOURTOURELLE WERE VERY DEAR FRIENDS. 





































































































































































The Blue Jay 


195 


No bird is more vigorous, alert, and dashing in 
winter and autumn, but during the mating and 
nesting season they are rather shy and timid. As 
soon as the courting days are over and the little 
family has grown up, the harsh voices can be heard, 
but in summer they are as quiet and retiring as any 
bird. Unfortunately, through the ignorance of some 
people, this bird has been given rather a bad repu¬ 
tation, which it does not deserve at all. After a care¬ 
ful survey by the government experts it has been 
found that the blue jay is far more beneficial than 
destructive, and deserves the fullest protection. It 
is seldom, if ever, that the blue jay kills other birds, 
and although they may sometimes, when driven by 
hunger, take the eggs of other birds, this cannot 
make it worth while to destroy the blue jays. 

Nuts of various kinds form a large part of this 
bird’s diet, acorns predominating. But they are very 
fond of beechnuts, chestnuts, chinquapins, and 
hazelnuts. Blue jays will gather nuts, just as the 
squirrels do, and store them away for winter use, 
showing that the bird has an intelligence above that 
possessed by many feathered creatures. In winter 
the eggs of the destructive tent caterpillar and the 
hibernating larvae of the brown-tail moth are 
eagerly sought for by the blue jays. 

More than one-half of the bird’s food in summer 
is made up of insects, many of them of injurious 
character. During the month of August it was 
found that the larger part of the blue jay’s food was 
made up of grasshoppers, and during the summer 


196 Birds the Indians Knew 

months caterpillars make up about a tenth of their 
diet. But the best service that the bird gives is in 
eating grasshoppers late in the season, and feeding 
on hibernating insects and their eggs. Some fruit 
and grain is eaten, but this is mostly wild or waste 
material. 

Blue jays are quite as good mimics as the mock¬ 
ing birds or cat birds, and are fearful teasers. How 
they do love to chase a blinking owl about in the 
day time, or repeat the cry of a poor, distressed bird. 
Their most common note is a two-syllabled whistle, 
or harsh, jingling scream, sounding something like 
“jay, jay,” hence the name given them. But they 
have a variety of other notes that they like to pour 
out, especially in winter, when they really do not 
sound so discordant even to the finest music-loving 
ears. 

The strong little home is made of twigs and sticks 
in bushes or low trees. Pines are a favorite nesting 
place, and they afford a good shelter. Four pale 
green eggs, spotted with brown, are laid. When in 
the vicinity of their nests blue jays are always cau¬ 
tious and silent. 

The Florida blue jay is smaller and has less white 
on the wings and tail than the blue jay. It is a resi¬ 
dent of the middle and southern portions of Florida, 
chiefly along the coast. These birds eat more animal 
matter than their northern relatives, and like best 
to live in scrub oaks. The children who are familiar 
with both of these jays will readily observe that 
these birds are slower in flight than the blue jays, 


The Blue Jay 


197 


and spend more of their time on the ground. Their 
habits and song are about the same as the other 
jays. 

The green jays are fairly common in Texas and 
other parts of the states around the Gulf. They are 
very pretty birds, a bit larger than the blue jays, and 
they wear a greenish gown. Their song is as varied 
as that of the mocking bird, and their nest is very 
hard to find. They are very fond of the eggs of other 
birds, and it is said kill many baby birds. 

The Canada jay is found in eastern North Amer¬ 
ica from the United States northward, and is a 
familiar bird to trappers, hunters, and campers in 
the northern woods. The lumbermen call them by 
various names as whisky jack, moose bird, and so 
forth. The birds are great favorites with the lumber¬ 
men, for they are always lively and cheerful and 
play all kinds of pranks. 




THE TREE SWALLOW 


The swallow is come! 

The swallow is come! 

O, fair are the seasons, and light 
Are the days that she brings, 
With her dusky wings, 

And her bosom snowy white! 


— Longfellow. 



FTER hearing the legend told about the tree 


JTx. swallow we no longer wonder why this little 
bird looks so much like a kite as it darts and plunges 
through the air. As we all know the fairies are won¬ 
derful little creatures and it is said that one time as 
they watched a little boy flying his kite, years and 
years ago, they thought it would be wonderful if a 












The Tree Swallow 


199 


bird could circle and dart about like the kite. So 
the fairies took the idea to the queen and as she 
stood watching the kite sail in the air, then turn 
and sway downward and then up again, she thought 
the same thing. Through her magic power the boy’s 
green and white kite was changed into the tree 
swallow. 

These birds are small, graceful creatures, with 
long powerful wings which enable them to fly a 
great distance. It is nearly inconceivable to think 
that so small a bird will travel so far to avoid cold 
weather, or in search of food. They fly higher in the 
air than do the barn swallows, and all swallows can 
readily be recognized by their way of flying, or dart¬ 
ing from place to place, and their twittering notes. 

As Emily Huntington has written: 

As swift as the light he is flashing along, 

High up in the glimmering blue, 

Then low at my feet, where the blossoms are sweet, 
And the meadows are sparkling with dew. 

Tree swallows are probably the most abundant 
members in this family of birds, and breed in the 
northern half of the United States and northward to 
Labrador and Alaska. These are the only members 
in the swallow family to spend their winters in this 
country, being the first to come north and the last 
in the autumn to leave for their winter homes. Even 
then Edmund C. Stedman missed them so much, 
that when he saw them traveling southward he 
poured out his heart in these words: 


200 Birds the Indians Knew 

Wither away, swallow 

Wither away? 

Canst thou no longer tarry in the North 

Here, where our roof so well hath screened thy nest? 

Not one short day? 

As far as is known and can be ascertained these 
birds migrate by day, traveling in large flocks, which 
often stop to rest on telegraph or telephone wires. 
It is not an uncommon sight to see thousands of 
them together in one of these fall migrations, and 
it is quite marvelous to see so many of these gay 
little creatures swaying back and forth on the wires. 
At night they seek the shelter of a woods or marsh, 
and thus travel leisurely southward. 

At a little distance these swallows appear to be 
black above, but as they suddenly dart past you it 
can be seen that their feathers above are a steely 
blue or a lustrous dark green. Mrs. Tree Swallow 
is slightly duller than the male, but all wear a white 
waistcoat. They are about six inches in length, and 
have very weak feet, suited only for perching. It is 
from their wings and tail that they get the power 
and momentum for their long and rapid flights. 
Their tail is long and forked, and their wings when 
outspread are very wide for so small a bird. They 
have large mouths which are adapted for insect cap¬ 
turing. It is wonderful to watch the birds skim¬ 
ming and circling over meadows and streams in a 
perfect ecstasy of flight, and scooping up insects 
as they speed along. Insects make up their main 


The Tree Swallow 


201 


diet—they consume a countless number of mos¬ 
quitoes. 

Tree swallows take almost as kindly to building 
their nests in boxes as do martins, wrens, bluebirds, 
and other birds. But some of the birds are still 
primitive in their habits and prefer their original 
homes, a nest in the hollow of a tree. And some, 
though they live in the boxes provided for them by 
people, still rest in their old ancestral homes. The 
birds nest both in colonies and pairs, and make their 
houses of grass, lined with feathers. Four to five 
plain white eggs are laid, and as the birds come so 
early northward they have plenty of time to rear 
two broods, which accounts for the great size of 
some of the flocks we see. 

The first babies hatch out about the Fourth of 
July, and usually help to celebrate that great day 
with their noisy clamor for food. The babies are 
brownish gray, but even they have white breasts, 
which has frequently given them the name of white- 
breasted, swallow. In a short time the little fellows 
start hunting their own food, and their mother be¬ 
gins sitting again. After the second brood is hatched 
out, the parents and other children join the young¬ 
sters and they have a happy time together. 


14 



THE YELLOW WARBLER 

T HE yellow warbler or summer warbler is truly a 
bird of the sun as the legend which is told about 
it proves it to be. At the beginning of the world 
when all the birds wore gray frocks, a group of the 
sweetest singers of the warblers one day went out 
to the edge of their forest home and were aston¬ 
ished to see how bright and beautiful the sun was as 
it drifted higher in the eastern skies. “If we were 
only half as pretty and cheery as the golden sun 
god,” sighed one of the birds, “what happiness we 
could give to the earthly children.” And the other 
warblers piped sweetly, “che-wee, che-wee,” meaning 
yes, yes. 

So hour after hour the birds twittered among the 
202 





The Yellow Warbler 


203 


trees skirting the forest and watched the sun as it 
grew brighter and brighter. At last a stray sunbeam 
touched the birds and seeing their sorrow asked 
them why they were grieving. “We want to be as 
bright and cheery looking as you are,” confessed 
one of the warblers. “Our coats are so dreary look¬ 
ing they will cheer no one and we want to make the 
earth people happy.” Then the little sunbeam asked 
the birds to come out and so turned their dresses 
into the beautiful yellow plumage these birds now 
wear. Perhaps that is the reason why these active, 
restless little birds will travel two thousand miles 
or more in a single season just to follow the sun. 

Probably the yellow warblers are the most abun¬ 
dant of the members of this vast family, which in¬ 
cludes seventy or more species. These sprightly, 
gay-colored little birds are found nearly everywhere 
after their migrations northward in May, and usu¬ 
ally can be seen in parks, orchards and gardens 
everywhere except in the southwestern states, where 
another species replaces them. Unlike most of the 
other warblers this vivacious little creature will stay 
around our homes nearly all summer, and its energy 
and good nature seems only to be increased by the 
heat. Perhaps it is because there are more insects 
in the summer, which make up the main diet of 
these birds, that makes them work so hard during 
the warm weather. 

These warblers are about the size of an English 
sparrow, or a bit smaller and the upper parts of the 
male are olive-yellow, being the brightest on the 


204 Birds the Indians Knew 


crown, while the underparts are a bright yellow 
streaked with reddish-brown. The tails and wings 
are a dusky olive-brown edged with yellow. Mrs. 
Yellow Warbler wears the same colored gown, but 
has less reddish-brown marks, so at a distance the 
two mates cannot be told apart. Perhaps it is be¬ 
cause these little creatures spend so much of their 
time in the sun that they look so much like a stray 
sunbeam as they dart in and out of the shrubbery 
and trees around our homes. Their feathers, as well 
as their happy voices, seem to have absorbed all of 
the sun’s brightness. 

Yellow warblers are probably the best singers in 
this large family of birds and Mr. Yellow Warbler 
is especially musical and melodious while wooing 
his mate. Ticell has said, “In lulling strains the 
feathered warblers woo.” Seven times in rapid suc¬ 
cession does Mr. Yellow Warbler sing “sweet-sweety- 
sweet-sweet-sweet-sweeter-sweeter” to the bride of 
his choice. After a while the same notes become 
monotonous to most other listeners, but the little 
birds seem never to tire of hearing them. At other 
times the warblers chant a sharp, hearty “che-wee, 
che-wee.” 

Being among the last of the birds to migrate 
northward it is usually late in May before these 
warblers start making a nest. They seem to like 
best to make their neat, dainty little home in a wil¬ 
low tree along a creek, preferring always to build 
near water. Both of the birds help to build the little 
mansion, which is a strong, compact structure of 


The Yellow Warbler 


205 


milkweed down, soft grasses and leaves, ferns and 
other soft material, lined with hair and feathers 
and firmly quilted together. The tiny cradle is usu¬ 
ally fastened to an upright fork or branch at a low 
elevation. From three to five tiny eggs are laid, and 
the mother is one of the most gentle and amiable 
parents in birdland. 





JUNCOES 

O NE day a group of fairies were having a delight¬ 
ful picnic in the midst of a dark woods when 
they heard someone crying, so one of the fairies went 
to search where the sound came from. By and by 
she returned bringing with her a little girl wiping 
her tearful eyes. 

“My dear, what is the matter?” asked the leader 
of the fairies, taking the little girl’s hand in hers 
and patting it. 

“I tried so hard to make some one happy and I 
couldn’t,” sobbed the little girl. “I couldn’t do very 
much, but I tried so hard,” she added. 

Then the little fairy stooped and kissed her and 
put in her hand a sparkling wand. “The first thin g 

206 







THE FAIRY FOUND A LITTLE GIRL WIPING HER 
TEARFUL EYES. 


























































































































































































JUNCOES 


207 


whatever it is, you wish on the wand shall be yours,” 
said the fairy. “It is the only way in which I can 
give you any joy, and you can choose whatever way 
you want to give others happiness.” 

The little girl thanked her and smilingly skipped 
away, but long before she reached home she heard 
a bird singing joyfully and she murmured, “I wish 
I were a little gray bird who would stay here and be 
happy all winter,” and immediately she turned into 
a junco. 

Juncoes are one of the most familiar and well¬ 
loved winter visitors in eastern North America and 
are also found in Siberia and Alaska, but are not 
known in the warmer climates. They breed from 
the Catskills and New England states and north¬ 
ward, and spend their winters as far south as the 
Gulf. With the first snowstorm they come drifting 
back to the states like a falling snowflake. Like the 
cheerful little chickadees these birds are protected 
by a layer of fat just below the skin, so even in the 
coldest weather they are active and cheerful. 

These little winter messengers may be easily dis¬ 
tinguished by their pinkish bill and white outer tail 
feathers, which are very conspicuous in flight. These 
birds are very gentle and unassuming in their quiet, 
drab plumage. Mr. Junco wears an upper waist¬ 
coat of slate color, which is darkest on his head. 
Sometimes it is nearly black and looks like the cowl 
that a monk wears. His breast is gray, and farther 
underneath he is whitish-gray. Mrs. Junco wears a 
lighter-gray gown tinted with black. 


208 Birds the Indians Knew 

The little homes are built low in hollow stumps 
or logs or even on the ground, and are constructed 
from grass, hairs and feathers. The birds are active, 
tidy little workers and the tiny cradle is a charming, 
well-built home. Four or five white, or bluish-white 
eggs, evenly marked with small reddish-brown spots 
are laid. 

The most common note used by the juncoes is a 
crisp, sharp sound resembling “tsip, tsip,” and is 
always uttered as an alarm call. Their song is a 
sweet, low, rippling trill, which is especially beauti¬ 
ful when given by a whole flock in unison when the 
earth is covered with snow. 

With the exception of the chickadees none of our 
winter birds are more sociable or will respond more 
readily to encouragement than juncoes. They will 
visit feed boxes day after day. Most of their food is 
made up of a vegetable and animal diet and because 
they destroy a great many harmful and obnoxious 
insects they are very useful birds. Among the ani¬ 
mal life they destroy are beetles, weevils, wasps, 
caterpillars, grasshoppers and spiders. 

A species known as the Catolina Junco is found 
in the Alleghany regions from Virginia to Georgia, 
while other species are found west of the Rockies, 
so all the boys and girls in this country can have 
a chance to become acquainted with this charming 
little creature. 



THE SNOWFLAKE OR SNOW BUNTING 

M ANY, many years ago two little girls were 
watching the snow hour after hour as it came 
drifting down from a leaden-colored sky. 

“If only something beautiful would come down 
out of the sky, instead of just snow, heaps and heaps 
of snow, I would be so glad,” complained the taller 
of the girls, closing her tired eyes with a long sigh. 

“But how can that be, sister, for all the birds 
have long ago gone south?” 

At last tired of watching the falling snow the girls 
put on their wraps and went outside. By and by 
they began making all kinds of objects from the 
soft, clinging snow and finally they made some birds 
and threw them up into the air. 

209 








210 Birds the Indians Knew 


“Oh, just look, look sister,” cried the younger girl 
in excitement as two little whitish-brown birds 
came fluttering to the ground near them. “Our 
snow birds have changed into real birds.” And ever 
since these little snowflakes or snow buntings have 
preferred living in the Arctic regions. 

Of these birds Ernest Thompson Seton, a great 
naturalist, has written: “In midwinter, in the far 
north, when the thermometer showed thirty degrees 
below zero and the chill blizzard was blowing on the 
plains, I have seen this brave little bird gleefully 
chasing his fellows, and pouring out his sweet 
voluble song as he flew, with as much spirit as ever 
skylark has in the sunniest days of June.” 

These sturdy little birds breed from Labrador to 
the Hudson Bay and northward, seldom coming 
south as far as the northern states, except during 
an unusually heavy snowfall or cold winter. In 
Canada they are one of the most familiar, popular 
and well-loved birds and spend their summers in 
the coldest Arctic regions. When they come to the 
United States they drift in like falling snowflakes, 
making their name truly appropriate. 

Snowflakes, when grown, measure about seven 
inches in length and have a sparrowish appearance. 
In summer the adults wear a white gown trimmed 
heavily in black and in winter the black is washed 
with brown. The birds are usually found in flocks 
and they feed on seeds, usually finding some old 
weed stalks above the deepest banks of snow, on 
which they joyfully feed where other birds would 


The Snowflake 


211 


starve. The little creatures are very restless and 
rather timid and often when feeding will start up 
and flit away, the whole group rising at the same 
time. The least noise will start all of the flock. 

Instead of hopping about as do most of the spar¬ 
row tribe, snowflakes walk over the frozen fields. 
The birds seldom sit in trees or other perches higher 
than a low shrub or rail fence, for they are ground 
birds. 

These little creatures are very quiet and about 
their only song is a short sweet whistle when they 
are flying, and a low twittering while they are 
feeding. 

The dainty little home is made of grass and moss 
and neatly lined with feathers, and the whole is 
sunk into spagnum moss, a soft covering found in 
abundance in the Arctic regions. Three to five 
greenish-white, brown speckled eggs are laid. The 
babies are quaint little birds, but they grow rapidly 
and are soon hopping and skipping about quite as 
active as their parents and delighting in cold, icy 
blasts. 





THE CHIMNEY SWIFT 

M ANY grandparents tell the quaint little story 
of the coming of the chimney swift. Many, 
many years ago a little boy and girl were playing 
with a wooden toy bird. 

“I wish the little bird could fly,” said the little 
girl, and the boy wished the same thing. 

‘‘And was all pretty colored,” he added, and then 
a happy thought came to him, and opening the door 
of the little heating stove he threw the unpainted 
toy on the burning coals. “Run out doors quickly, 
Mollie,” he commanded, “and see what a pretty 
bird will come out of the chimney.” 

Shutting the stove door quickly he followed his 
little sister outside just in time to see a bird, as 


212 


















The Chimney Swift 


213 


gray as smoke, come fluttering out of the chimney. 
“Oh, see how it flies, brother,” shouted the little girl, 
and for a long time they watched the bird as it 
darted and skimmed around the chimney. From 
that day to this the chimney swift is always asso¬ 
ciated with chimneys. 

Many call the chimney swift the “chimney swal¬ 
low,” but the birds are not even related to the swal¬ 
lows, though both are such marvelous fliers. This 
bird is a relative of the nighthawks and whippoor¬ 
wills, though differing so much in habits. No other 
bird can surpass or equal the chimney swift in pow¬ 
erful flight, and often it flies many thousand miles 
in a single day. And the strangest part of the jour¬ 
ney is that nowhere does the bird rest except in 
chimneys, no matter how tired it gets. Their flight 
is rather peculiar, and spines on the end of each 
tail feather enable the birds to cling upright to 
any wall, and slowly hitch their way upward. When 
flying, the motion they make somewhat resembles 
rowing, for first one wing is brought forward and 
then the other. Compared to the swallow’s flight 
the swift’s flying looks awkward and ungraceful, 
but in power and swiftness they can put these birds 
to sorry plight. 

These little birds are found in North America, east 
of the Plains, breeding from Labrador to Florida, 
Panama and Central South America. Their favorite 
months of migration are April and October. Like 
the swallows, originally these swifts dwelt in the 
hollows of trees, and some of the old-fashioned birds 


214 Birds the Indians Knew 

still prefer living there. But with the advent of man 
and chimneys many have chosen the latter as their 
homes. The unused chimneys of old dwellings are 
of course preferable as nesting places for these 
smoke-colored birds, but often these little creatures 
will build their homes in a chimney that is occasion¬ 
ally used through the nesting season, and the heat 
of the fire will melt the glue that holds their home 
to the walls, and down come “babies, cradle and all.” 

Chimney swifts are small birds measuring from 
five to five and a fourth inches in length, but their 
long wings make them appear much larger. The 
wings extend even an inch and a half beyond the 
long tail, and give the bird a slender appearance. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Chimney Swift wear a gray, sooty 
cloak, with patches on the throat a trifle lighter. 
No bird has a more modest, Quakerish gown, and 
few have quieter, less enthusiastic habits. Their feet 
are exceedingly muscular and have sharp claws, 
adapted for clinging. These birds resemble bats 
more than they do any other birds, and being so 
unobtrusive often are not noticed as they creep 
about the chimneys of houses. They are seldom seen 
near the ground. 

Early in the morning and late in the afternoon 
myriads of chimney swifts may often be seen flitting 
about for insects, but at night they always go back 
to their chimneys. One sometimes wonders why the 
birds prefer a dirty, smoky chimney to a nest in the 
clean out-of-doors, but perhaps having been born 
in a chimney, according to our grandparents’ tales, 


The Chimney Swift 


215 


they prefer living there for the remainder of their 
lives. 

Like the swallows, the swifts have not been gifted 
with a great song, but they utter a continuous and 
musical twittering while on the wing, and also from 
the depths of the chimney. 

The birds gather the material for their nests while 
in full flight, snapping off little twigs and branches 
of trees as they flit past them. The nests are semi¬ 
circular affairs, shaped something like an old-fash¬ 
ioned cradle, and are glued to the walls by a saliva 
excreted by the parents during the nesting period. 
Three to five long narrow eggs are laid, and usually 
two broods are reared in a year. The babies are 
rather weak and not until they are a month old do 
they ever get out of their dark home. But these 
swifts, despite their gloomy nesting place, seem al¬ 
ways to be happy and contented and are never heard 
quarreling. 




WHITE-THROATED SWIFT, SAILOR OF THE AIR 

M OST of the bird legends relate that long, long 
ago all birds had gray plumage, and one day 
a white-throated swift, which at that time had no 
white throat, was flying over a desert. It was very 
hot and so the bird flew to a steep precipice to rest. 
By and by a donkey came along and stepped on the 
swift’s tail and cut it off short; and in trying to get 
away the bird broke her leg and then plunged down 
into the deep canyon. She cried piteously for help, 
but not till the next morning did a mountain goat 
come to her aid. The goat brought the swift some 
water on the ends of his horns, and when she felt 
a little better the goat kneeled down and the swift 
managed to hop on his back. The little swift clung 

216 










WM/,! 


rlHk 

}/';//, f/B : ;x 

W"MM 

gtefl 

If wm 

L / ////// / 


kj'////'/ft Mm 

mm 


THE LITTLE SWIFT CLUNG TIGHTLY TO HER 
friend’s BACK. 

































■ *- 




. 




! 








































































White-Throated Swift 


217 


tightly to her friend’s back, fearing she would fall 
off, and so closely did she cling that her throat be¬ 
came all covered with the goat’s fleece; and that is 
the reason these swifts have had white throats ever 
since. 

There are nearly one hundred species of swifts 
known and they are found in all parts of the world. 
They are especially noted for their rapid, graceful 
flight, but the white-throated swift flies faster even 
than most of its relatives, being one of the fastest 
flying of all birds. The birds have strong, flexible 
wings, made so from constant use, but weak feet. 
They delight in perching on steep cliffs, their feet 
clinging to the slippery walls and bracing them¬ 
selves on their short, stout tails. They fly all day 
without seeming to tire, catching most of their food 
on the wing and eating an enormous amount of in¬ 
sects, flies, bugs and other air creatures. At dusk 
these swifts return to their huge nesting places in 
large flocks, circling and whirling and flying in ev¬ 
ery way imaginable. 

White-throated swifts are about six and a half 
inches in length and wear a mousey-brown or 
greenish-black frock trimmed with the white on 
their throats and a spot on their tails. These 
swifts are found from the eastern foothills of the 
Rockies on to the Pacific Ocean, and are not well 
known in the western states. 

These birds nest in communities, often a thousand 
or more group together at the top of some steep 
cliff, which is inaccessible. It is said that these 

15 


218 Birds the Indians Knew 


swifts gather the twigs, with which they build their 
nests, in their beaks while flying. They build curious 
semicircular, or saucer-shaped nests in the crevices 
of the cliffs, and as high from the ground as pos¬ 
sible. The little homes are placed in the crevices 
found among the rocks, and as far back as the holes 
go; sticks, leaves and so forth are used in the con¬ 
struction and the whole is cemented together with 
saliva. All the swifts are provided with this fluid, 
and in some countries it is certain species of swifts’ 
nests that make up the “edible nests” which one 
often hears mentioned. The snug little dwelling is 
then carefully lined with feathers and four to six 
white eggs are laid. Usually two broods are raised 
in a season. 

Perhaps because swifts are such wonderful fliers 
they have not been given a musical voice, and the 
notes that white-throated swifts utter are little more 
than bird chattering. Usually while flying the birds 
keep uttering a shrill, loud, rapid twittering. 


/ 



T HERE are many quaint and beautiful legends 
told about the crossbill, and about one of the 
most interesting of these Longfellow wrote a poem, 
The Legend of the Crossbill. This is a fanciful tale 
of how this bird tried to draw the nails from the 
hands of Christ as He hung on the cross, and in so 
doing crossed its bill and stained its feathers with 
Christ’s blood. 

Crossbills are curious birds with many odd and 
eccentric ways and habits, but they are very gentle 
and friendly, and every winter may be found in 
flocks on the outskirts of cities. They live mostly 
in coniferous trees, where one may see them cling¬ 
ing to cones in almost every conceivable way, often 

219 









220 Birds the Indians Knew 

with their heads pointing downward or at some pe¬ 
culiar angle. Frequently broken cones, upon which 
they are working so busily, will come rattling down 
to the ground. One of the American crossbill’s most 
curious habits is for a whole flock to take flight, and 
circle about, without any apparent cause, only to 
alight again in the tree that they have just left. 

These birds are members of the finch family, and 
were named from their queer crossed bills. The 
American crossbill is about six inches in length and 
breeds from northern New England, westward, and 
south to the mountains of Georgia. It prefers cold 
weather to warm and winters in the northern half 
of the United States. 

The male is beautifully garbed in a coat of brick 
or Indian red, with brown tail and wings, and it 
always looks bright and modish. The females’ red¬ 
dish gowns are slightly mottled with dull yellow, 
and underneath they are a dull white. Though not 
as handsome as the males they look quite stylish 
and very neat. 

The little home is built in some kind of evergreen 
tree, and is made of spruce twigs, shreds of bark, 
moss and grass. Three or four greenish-white eggs 
spotted with brown are laid, and the young birds 
are cared for very attentively by their parents. 

Their call is a short flute-like whistle, which is 
rather thrilling, while at other times they make a 
low twittering sound that is not at all unmusical. 
When in flight, a whole flock utters in unison the 
flute-like whistle it is quite charming. 


The Crossbill 


221 


It is said that all crossbills are very fond of salt, 
and may be lured near a house in that way. Their 
food consists mainly of buds, berries and fruit. They 
seem to prefer a vegetable diet to one of meat. 

The white-winged crossbills are rather rare birds, 
being true inhabitants of the frozen regions, breed¬ 
ing in the northern states and northward, and win¬ 
tering in the northern half of the United States. 
The male is of a more rosy shade than the American 
crossbill, and the female more yellowish. They are 
also of a more roving disposition than the other spe¬ 
cies, and even more eccentric, and usually are seen 
in smaller flocks, but sometimes one or two may be 
found in company with a flock of the American 
crossbills. They are often seen in one locality one 
year and they may never visit it again. Their song 
is similiar to the American crossbill, and so are their 
nesting habits, but their eggs are a little larger and 
more blotched. 




THE CHIPPING SPARROW 

N O bird has a prettier and more sacred legend 
told about it than does the tame little chip¬ 
ping sparrow. It is said that Christ and some of His 
playmates delighted in modeling birds out of mud, 
trying to make as many different shaped birds and 
colors out of the same ingredients as they could. 
But try as hard as they would none of the other 
boys could make birds that would fly, for only the 
brownish-gray birds that Christ made would soar 
away. This is why, the little Indian children are 
told, that the chipping sparrows are so modest, un¬ 
assuming and well-loved. 

Chipping sparrows are one of the commonest and 
most useful of our many birds. They are found 

222 











The Chipping Sparrow 223 

throughout North America, east of the Plains, breed¬ 
ing from Mexico on northward to Newfoundland 
and the Hudson Bay. They winter in the Gulf States 
and southward, where they are as welcome visitors 
as they are throughout their range. West of the 
Rockies a sub-species is found, so the boys and girls 
throughout our country should be familiar with 
this humble, gay little bird. Everywhere this little 
messenger has endeared itself by its gentle, confid¬ 
ing ways, its cheeriness and from the habit it has 
of never getting into mischief. 

Like all the members of the sparrow family the 
little chippies are very quietly garbed, wearing a 
reddish crown which is bordered with black, and 
wide gray eyebrows, with a black line through the 
eye. These distinct markings will help you to dis¬ 
tinguish this bird from the other members of the 
sparrow family. Beneath, the birds are a dirty 
grayish-white. Like all sparrows and other seed¬ 
eating birds they have cone-shaped bills which en¬ 
able them to crush and break open hard-shelled 
seeds. 

These little birds were named from their call note, 
which is a sharp “chip, chip” sound, rapidly repeat¬ 
ed for several seconds at a time. When uttered in 
unison by a flock, the sound resembles the music of 
an orchestra playing rather lightly. But this bird’s 
greatest talent is its high, wiry, trilling song, which 
resembles the buzzing of a locust, and is chanted 
almost incessantly. 

From early morning when the sun first touches 


224 Birds the Indians Knew 

the earth, or even before, when the gray dawn is 
streaking all of nature with its ghost-like dimness, 
the chipping sparrows begin to sing and continue 
till midnight. “Chirup, chirup, chirup,” pipes each 
little chipping sparrow with an exuberance that it 
is hard to realize can live in so small a body. They 
never seem to tire, and sometimes after listening for 
hours to the gay, throbbing song, it grows rather 
monotonous, yet even then we cannot help but ad¬ 
mire the birds’ energy. But in the very midst of 
summer there comes a time when it is usually so 
hot and dry that even the undaunted little chippies 
hush their song, and so sometimes it is almost with 
as much joy as we welcome the spring that we listen 
to their first bright “chip, chip, chip” again. 

Both birds carry twigs with which to build the 
little home, which is a small cup-shaped structure. 
Long horse hairs are gathered and coiled around and 
around inside for a lining. From this habit these 
birds have received the nickname of “hairbird.” The 
little home is placed in bushes, trees or vines, often 
very near to a porch or a house. Three to five bluish- 
green eggs, which are profusely speckled with brown 
on the large ends, are laid. When the babies appear 
no parents are kept busier than they searching for 
food for the youngsters, which consists entirely of 
seeds. 

Chipping sparrows eat large quantities of insects, 
worms, wasps, beetles, weevils, plant lice, ants, 
moths and grasshoppers. Caterpillars seem to be 
their favorite animal food and they dine on them 


The Chipping Sparrow 


225 


every day in the year. They eat some seeds, which 
is mostly waste grain, and of all the birds that the 
government examined to see what kind of food they 
ate in the greatest quantities, only one had eaten 
a bit of wild fruit. So we see why this little bird 
with the pretty legend should always be protected 
wherever found and encouraged to stay. 




THE PAINTED BUNTING 

T HE legend that is told in connection with the 
coming of the painted bunting is quite as en¬ 
thralling as any fairy tale. Once upon a time a 
little girl took her box of paints and went to a near¬ 
by woods to practice her drawing lesson. By and by 
she saw a pretty butterfly and went dancing after 
it, leaving her unfinished picture, paints, and brush. 
The mischievous elves that had been playing about 
and watching the girl came dancing to investigate 
her things as soon as she was out of sight. 

The fattest little elf cried in glee when he saw the 
paints. “Such wonderful colors!” he shouted. “Just 
like the rainbow! Now if I only had something to 
paint.” 


226 








The Painted Bunting 


227 


Hardly had he said the words when two little gray 
birds came flitting down from the trees, for it is 
said that at the beginning of the world all of the 
birds were gray. 

“Why not try painting these birds with those 
bright colors?” asked another elf. “You catch them 
while I pick out the paints.” 

A short time later the whole merry group of elves 
were busy painting the birds, and never was a bird 
seen with such brilliant colors as they gave to Mr. 
Painted Bunting. When they came to Mrs. Bunting 
they had only two colors left, brown and green and 
not very much of that, so that is the reason she 
wears a drab-colored gown and her husband wears 
such a gorgeous suit. 

Painted buntings belong to the finch family, a 
popular name for the seed-eating birds, including 
about five hundred and fifty species found in all 
parts of the world, excepting Australia. These birds 
are especially abundant in the United States and 
Canada and include such familiar birds as the spar¬ 
rows, goldfinches, linnets and so forth. 

Among these species are many beautiful song¬ 
sters, some with brilliant colors and others garbed 
in somber robes. But all can be distinguished by 
their sharply-pointed, conical bills, which have been 
made strong for the crushing of seeds and hard ob¬ 
jects. Because of its seed-eating qualities, attractive 
song, and bright colors the painted bunting is a 
favorite cage bird, but loses much of its brightness 
and joyousness in captivity. 


228 Birds the Indians Knew 

By some bird authorities it is claimed, that with¬ 
out exception, the male painted bunting is the most 
gaudily feathered bird in North America. Some 
think that the bird is harshly colored and that the 
shades clash violently, while others admire the 
showy colors. It is hard to describe the brilliant coat 
of Mr. Painted Bunting, for his head is a bluish- 
purple, his eyes are red, his beak gray, and the 
upper part of his back is a yellowish-red running 
into a bright pink-red farther toward the tail, and 
extending around to his breast. His tail is a grayish- 
brown, about the shade of his bill, while his wings 
are a yellowish-gray. Mrs. Painted Bunting, strange 
as it may seem, does not seem to envy her mate’s 
flashing clothes, and appears to admire him quite 
as much as he does himself. The birds average about 
five and a half inches in length and are shaped 
similar to an English sparrow. 

These birds are found in the southwestern part 
of the United States, breeding from the Gulf of 
Mexico north to Virginia, Ohio and Kansas. They 
winter in Central America and are among the last 
of the birds that migrate northward. 

Like their near relatives, the indigo buntings, 
these little creatures are fond of living in thickets 
and hedges, or in shrubbery along roadsides and in 
pastures, or in swamps, where they can always find 
plenty of seed. They are not as sociable as some 
birds, and are rather shy little fellows, but they al¬ 
ways seem to be happy and in their way welcome a 
human visitor. 


The Painted Bunting 


229 


They make their little homes of grasses, leaves, 
bits of bark and rootlets, woven together and placed 
in a low elevation in a small tree or bush. Their 
tiny eggs are whitish, speckled and spotted with 
brownish-red, and the parents are very devoted and 
tidy homemakers. 

The painted bunting has a canary-like song, 
which is not quite so brilliant, maybe, as the indigo 
buntings, but is quite sweet and melodious. Mr. 
Bunting seems to like to do nothing better than to 
sit in the top of some tree, and swaying back and 
forth, sing and sing to his little mate or children. 
Their call and conversation among themselves is a 
sharp little chirp, that sounds like some foreign 
language to a listener. 





THE BROWN THRUSH, OR THRASHER 

A BEAUTIFUL Indian legend is told about the 
brown thrush. In the old days it is said that 
two warriors went on a long journey. One beautiful 
day in March when the earth was awakening from 
its long sleep and everything was throbbing with 
life and beauty, they saw, as they passed near a 
forest, a brown thrasher sitting in a tree, singing. 

One of the braves stopped and remarked, “I wish 
you a good day, thrush!” 

“I have no time to thank you,” chirped the thrush, 
“for I am busy making the summer.” 

The warriors looked up in astonishment, and 
started to protest, but the thrush retorted: “I am 
making the summer. It is I! I! I! who made the 


230 


















The Brown Thrush 


231 


green grass grow and the flowers bud. Look how 
even now the world is growing beautiful in answer 
to my song.” And the gay fellow continued to war¬ 
ble while the two braves went on their way. 

This was early in the morning, and before mid¬ 
day the heavens became clouded, rain began to fall, 
and a biting wind began to blow. By night, snow 
was falling thick and fast, and the thrush took 
refuge in heaps of dead leaves, shivering and shak¬ 
ing. 

The next morning the braves, plodding through 
the snowdrifts, came upon the thrush again, and 
once more the friendly brave called: “I wish you a 
good day, thrush.” The poor, discouraged bird was 
glad enough to return the greeting this time, and 
also to admit that the Great Spirit, and not himself, 
was responsible for the summer and all the chang¬ 
ing seasons of the year. 

Of course this is only an Indian legend. But it 
gives us something to think about. 

Brown thrashers are near relatives of the wrens, 
and all members of the thrush family are near 
cousins. In some localities this bird is called ground 
thrush, from the habit it has of building its nest on 
the ground in wild, unsettled places. In the south, 
where it is found in abundance, it is known as the 
sandy mocker, because of its great variety of notes 
sounding so much like the song of the famous mock¬ 
ing bird. 

Brown thrashers are more retiring, and probably 
quieter, than either catbird or the mocking bird. 


232 Birds the Indians Knew 

They breed from the Gulf to southern Canada and 
west to Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, win¬ 
tering in the southern half of the United States. 
They are among the first birds to migrate north¬ 
ward, coming soon after the bluebirds and robins, 
and returning in October. The brown thrasher was 
given its name from the habit it has of thrashing 
its long tail on the ground when excited or search¬ 
ing for food. 

Few birds have a more handsome and neater-look- 
ing garb to wear than do the brown thrashers, both 
the male and the female. One seldom sees an untidy- 
looking, shaggy-appearing brown thrasher. Instead, 
they usually look as if they had just completed a 
careful toilet. 

Mr. Brown Thrasher is rusty-red above, being 
darkest on his wings, which are crossed with two 
short white bars. His breast is white, heavily 
streaked, all except his throat, with dark brown, ar¬ 
row-shaped spots. His bill, like his tail, is long and 
curved at the tip. Mrs. Brown Thrasher wears about 
the same colored garment, only it is a bit paler be¬ 
neath. 

Brown thrashers are among our most useful birds, 
one half of their diet consisting of animal food, in¬ 
cluding grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, cut¬ 
worms, spiders, millepedes, wireworms, May beetles, 
rose beetles, rice weevils, figeaters, and other de¬ 
structive and harmful insects. Most of the fruit 
they eat, with the exception of a few cherries, per¬ 
haps, is wild fruit. 


The Brown Thrush 


233 


Unlike so many birds, both Mr. and Mrs. Brown 
Thrasher help in the building of the little home. 
The mother fixes the inner lining of the structure. 
The nest is made of twigs and grass, and is lined 
with fine rootlets, hair, feathers, wool, and small 
grasses. The eggs are of a whitish color, speckled 
with brown. For a few days the babies are covered 
with a fuzzy fur. Both birds defend their home 
bravely, flying back and forth between the nest and 
the intruder, uttering plaintive cries. Many times as 
a last resort, when they see their home is to be at¬ 
tacked, they will strike with their bills or wings. 

The brown thrasher has a bright and cheerful 
carol, which is often long continued, but which is 
always sweet and clear. 

The bird's favorite singing time seems to be early 
in the morning. When perched on the top of a tall 
bush or a low tree, he sways back and forth and 
makes joyous music. It has been the inspiration of 
a good many poems by well-known writers. 

E. R. Sill must have felt the glad thrill in the 
thrasher’s song when he wrote: 

All the notes of the forest throng, 

Flute, reed, and string, are in his song; 
Never a fear knows he, nor wrong, 

Nor a doubt of anything . 


16 



THE WHISTLING SWAN 

And over the 'pond are sailing 
Two swans all white as snow; 

Sweet voices mysteriously wailing 
Pierce through me as onward they go. 

They sail along, and a ringing 
Sweet melody rises on high; 

And when the swan begins singing 
They presently must die. 

S O wrote Heine, the great German satirist, about 
the graceful and majestic swan, one of the most 
beautiful of birds. From Homer to Tennyson, poets 
have written about the swan, and especially about 
the wonderful song the birds are supposed to sing 

234 


























The Whistling Swan 


235 


just before they die. This, however, is an erroneous 
belief, for those who are familiar with swans know 
that they chant this wild, indescribable melody 
with its haunting echoes at certain times of the 
year, and do not expire thereafter as the poets 
would have us believe. 

There are eight species of swans and the different 
families are found in various countries. The Euro¬ 
pean or whistling swan, the Berwick’s swan which 
is a smaller species, and the mute swan, which is 
the bird usually seen in zoological gardens and in 
parks and estates, are all members of the eastern 
hemisphere. It is said that some species of swans 
lose their voice when in captivity, but that the mute 
swan never does, hence it is the most popular for 
such places where swans are wanted. 

The black swan, a native of Australia, has a scar¬ 
let bill banded with black, while the rest of the bird 
is a glistening coal black. The black-necked swan 
is found in South America. The trumpeter swan is 
even larger than the whistling species, and has a 
more western range in this country, being rarely 
found east of the Mississippi River. Its song resem¬ 
bles the tones of a French clarion. All swans belong 
to the same family of birds as do ducks and geese, 
and all have loud, trumpet-like notes. 

The whistling swan is found in North America, 
nesting as far north as the Arctic Ocean and migrat¬ 
ing to the Southern states and Gulf of Mexico in 
October, returning to their northern homes in April. 
The birds measure about fifty-five inches in length, 


236 Birds the Indians Knew 


having a wing spread of from six to seven feet, and 
they look like kingly airplanes as they sail in the 
sky. Scientists have estimated that these birds sail 
along in their graceful flight at about a hundred 
miles an hour. Like geese and ducks the swans fly 
in wedge-shaped flocks, following a leader with a 
particularly loud, commanding voice. When swim¬ 
ming on a lake or some other placid body of water 
the swan is very graceful and lovely, and as Words¬ 
worth wrote: 

The swan, on still St. Mary’s Lake 

Float double, swan and shadow. 

The bill, legs and feet of the whistling swans are 
black, while their plumage is a spotless white, mak¬ 
ing a striking contrast. There is usually a yellow 
spot between the nostrils and eyes, which is lack¬ 
ing in the trumpeter swan. The swans are rather 
shy and timid, yet the domesticated swans will fight 
courageously when attacked and a mature swan can 
break a man’s legs with one flap of a wing. A grown 
swan can throw down an average fifteen-year-old 
boy. 

All species of swans feed on roots, water plants, 
worms, mollusks, and other objects found in the wa¬ 
ter, craning their long, beautiful necks far beneath 
the water in search of food. It is said that in the 
beginning, swans had no longer necks than geese 
and ducks, but that they were not content with the 
food that they could thus obtain and kept stretch¬ 
ing and stretching their necks until they got the 


The Whistling Swan 


237 


long necks that they now have. No bird has a 
prouder, more charming manner, or a more grace¬ 
ful curving neck. 

According to a popular myth the beautiful Helen 
of Troy had the semblance of a swan during the 
time she was wooed by the king of all gods. We are 
all familiar with the reference that the author of 
Annie Laurie makes to the heroine’s neck being as 
white as a swan. 

Swans are especially noisy while preening their 
feathers, and stopping every few moments will chant 
a few notes, then proceed to put each feather care¬ 
fully in place. They also like to sing and call when 
feeding or flying, and the whistling swans fill the 
air with notes varying from a deep bass to the 
shrillest tones of a clarinet. 

The swans begin house building in May, and both 
birds help to build the nest, which requires an enor¬ 
mous amount of labor. The birds gather together 
a pile of sticks two feet in height and often six feet 
across, which they line with down. Two to six rough 
grayish eggs are laid in June, which take five weeks 
to incubate. The cygnets, as the young swans are 
called, are of a brownish-gray color until they grow 
older. 



N O bird is regarded with more superstitious ven¬ 
eration by sailors than the beautiful albatross, 
and to injure or destroy it in any way is supposed 
to be followed by great affliction to the destroyer. 
In his poem The Ancient Mariner, Coleridge has 
included this queer fancy and tells about a wan¬ 
ton sailor who in spite, shot down an albatross that 
had followed a ship. His companions praise and 
honor him for the deed, and so they are all punished 
with death, while the sailor meets the far worse fate 
of having to sail alone, “Alone on a wide, wide sea,” 
as Coleridge has it, until in desperation he learns 
to live and reverence every moving object about him. 
Then at last he is mercifully released, and ever 

238 










The Albatross 


239 


afterward seeks men to whom he may tell his story. 

Seven species of this family of birds are recorded, 
of which the common or wandering albatross is the 
best known, being most frequently seen in the seas 
of Southern Africa. Other species of albatross are 
found in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Pacific, 
four species being found on the waters along the 
western shore of this country. But all the species 
found along the United States are smaller than 
those found in the Southern seas. The sooty alba¬ 
tross is found chiefly in the Antarctic regions, and 
is often called by the sailors the Quaker bird on ac¬ 
count of its prevailing brown plumage. The yellow 
and black-beaked albatross and the albatross of 
China are not known in this country. 

The albatross is a cousin of the snowy and giant 
petrels, the skua gulls, penguins, and cape pigeons 
and was named from the port of Alcatras, meaning 
a pelican. Sailors capture this graceful bird for its 
long wing bones, which are made into tobacco pipe 
stems, and the entrails are often blown up as buoys 
for nets. Although the meat is dry and almost taste¬ 
less it is often eaten by the natives. 

All members of the albatross family seek land 
only to breed, and then they usually select some 
lonely or isolated island, or some desolate coast. No 
nest of any kind is made, but the birds usually 
select a natural hollow or a circle of earth piled to¬ 
gether in the open ground, on which to lay their 
solitary white egg. The egg is four to five inches 
long and spotted at the larger end, requiring forty 


240 Birds the Indians Knew 

days to incubate. The tiny baby is covered with a 
sooty, fluffy down, and does not get the beautiful 
plumage of its parents for several months. The 
babies grow very slowly and require much tender 
care. 

All birds of this family have heavy, powerful bills 
four inches or more in length and sharp-edged, the 
upper mandible terminating in a large hook which 
enables them better to take up the food from the 
water. The bills are pale yellow flushing to pink, 
while the feet and membrane between the toes are 
flesh-colored. None of the albatross have hind toes 
and the three anterior toes are webbed, making 
them truly aquatic birds. While on the water they 
are among the most graceful and charming of birds, 
but on land are rather awkward and clumsy. 

It is as Doctor Arnott wrote, “How powerful must 
be the wing-muscles of birds, which sustain them¬ 
selves in the sky for hours together.” No bird has 
greater powers of endurance than the albatross 
and they will often follow a ship for days, seeming 
rather to float than glide in the air. It has been 
known that some birds have flown seven hundred 
and twenty nautical miles in a day, and they often 
come near vessels, proving objects of great interest 
to the voyagers. 

The albatross has a hoarse cry which is often 
compared to that of a pelican, but probably sounds 
more like the braying of a mule. Immense flocks 
of albatrosses are found in the Behring Strait and 
around Kamchatka about the end of June. They 


The Albatross 


241 


are attracted to these parts by the immense schools 
of fish, and the birds follow their migratory move¬ 
ments. When the birds first appear in these parts 
they are usually haggard and lean, but finding such 
an abundance of food they gorge themselves and 
rapidly become fat. 

They have voracious appetites and will often 
swallow a salmon four or five inches long, becom¬ 
ing half-choked in the process, and unable to move 
are easily knocked down by the natives with a stick, 
or even picked up in the hand. They also eat other 
sea animals and fish, and fish-spawn seems to be 
one of their favorite dishes, but they never attack 
other birds. Large as are some of the species an 
albatross will never fight with another bird, thus 
proclaiming their good nature. 

The common or wandering albatross is the best 
known of this family of large graceful birds, and is 
the largest and strongest of all sea birds. The body 
is about four feet long and the distance between the 
tips of the extended wings of adults varies from ten 
to seventeen feet, and they weigh from fifteen to 
twenty-five pounds. With the exception of several 
black bands across the back and a few feathers in 
the tail this albatross is white with a ruddy gray 
head. The plumage is soft and abundant, giving the 
bird a beautiful appearance. 

This great albatross is found chiefly in the stormy 
waters of the Southern Ocean, where it often ac¬ 
companies ships for whole days without resting. 
Not only does it glide along, but wheels in large 


242 Birds' the Indians Knew 

circles, dives and gyrates in various ways without 
ever being observed to touch the water. Its powers 
of flight are marvelous and it is often said that it 
sleeps on the wing. 

It is a true bird of the water, and on land it is as 
Charles G. Leland has so appropriately written: 

Great albatross!—the meanest birds 
Spring up and flit away , 

While thou must toil to gain a flight, 

And speed those pinions grey; 

But when they once are fairly poised, 

Far o’er each chirping thing 
Thou sailest wide to other lands, 

E’en sleeping on the icing . 



CORMORANTS 


C ORMORANTS are related to the pelican family, 
and there are about twenty-five species dis¬ 
tributed all over the world. Although associated 
with semi-tropical and tropical regions, at least 
eight species of cormorants are found in North 
America. When breeding in large masses on the 
cliffs along the sea the double-crested species is a 
very interesting bird, and in the Bay of Fundy they 
are found by the hundreds. As one bird lover has 
said, there standing erect, resting on their tails they 
look like “rows of black bottles stood out to dry.” All 
cormorants are water birds and prefer living near 
the sea coasts, but they are often found far inland, 
where they have flown, as all of the birds of this 

243 





























244 Birds the Indians Knew 

family are very strong and powerful fliers. 

The common cormorant is about thirty inches in 
length, or about the size of a goose. The distinguish¬ 
ing characteristics of all members of this family 
are their toes, which are united by membranes, and 
by the middle toe being notched like a saw to help 
in the holding of its prey. All cormorants have long, 
strongly-hooked bills, long necks, short wings and 
short rounded tails, with thick and heavy bodies. 
The common cormorant is black or dark-colored 
with a head and neck of sooty blackness, while the 
double-crested species is bronze-tinted and has a 
crest of black curved feathers behind each eye and 
its pouch-like throat is of orange. 

These birds are voracious eaters, and having a 
quick digestion their appetites seem insatiable. On 
the approach of winter great bands scatter along 
the sea shores and ascending the mouths of rivers 
gulp down every fish they see. They usually dive 
for the fish, and they have been known to stay under 
water for a long time in pursuit of a finny prize. 
The birds use both feet and wings while swimming. 
Usually the cormorants fly close above the water, 
waiting to spy a fish, but sometimes perched on an 
overhanging branch of a tree, they wait for a fish to 
pass by. This habit inspired Milton to liken this bird 
to Satan in his Paradise Lost: 

Thence up he flew, and on the tree of life, 

The middle tree, and highest there that grew, 
Sat like a cormorant. 


Cormorants 


245 


In China the birds are raised in captivity, and 
there they are used to fish for the people. A man 
can easily manage a hundred of the domesticated 
fowls. When a fisherman is ready to go out with 
the birds, a hemp collar or string is tied around the 
birds’ necks, tight enough so that they cannot swal¬ 
low the fish that they catch. The birds are carried 
out into the lake, or stream, where the fishing is to 
be done on the gunwale of the boat. Here they sit 
very calmly waiting for orders from their master. 
When the boat has arrived at the proper place and 
the master gives the orders each bird flies in a dif¬ 
ferent way at a signal and fulfills the task assigned 
it in a hurry. Quickly the bird searches about for 
a fish, then plunges and rises to the surface, doing 
this again and again until it catches its prey, then 
seizing the fish in the middle with its beak it car¬ 
ries its prize to the fisherman. Now and then the 
collar about the birds’ necks is loosened and they 
are permitted to eat some of the less satisfactory 
of their catches. 

Cormorants nest in great colonies, being gregari¬ 
ous at all times. The nests are usually built on the 
highest part of a cliff, overhanging the sea, and 
three to four pale green eggs, about the size of a 
goose egg, are laid in each nest. 



IBIS 

P EOPLE who are not familiar with water birds 
or those living near the shores are probably not 
acquainted with any of the various species of ibis, 
a stork-like wading bird. These birds are close rela¬ 
tives of the spoonbills and curlews and distantly 
related to the storks and herons. All species like 
to live in swampy places, where they catch fish, 
young alligators, frogs, reptiles and other animals 
that live in such places. All members of this rather 
strange family of birds have long, slender bills, 
curved toward the base and thick, with a rather 
obtuse point. They have long necks, which are usu¬ 
ally bare of feathers to the first joint, and three of 
their toes are partly united in front, leaving one ex- 

246 






























Ibis 


247 


tending behind. The tail is rather short, while the 
wings are long enough, and strong enough, to make 
them graceful, quick fliers. 

Perhaps the scarlet ibis, a tropical American spe¬ 
cies, is the most remarkable and the most beautiful 
of this family of birds, and is so called from its bril¬ 
liant scarlet plumage. The wings are marked with 
glossy black, while part of the bird is pure white, 
making a remarkable contrast. 

The ibis does not move in large flocks, and often 
a pair or several pairs are seem together in an iso¬ 
lated spot, far from any others of their own species. 
The white ibis, probably the most common of these 
birds in the southern part of the United States, 
seems to delight in living together and often forty 
or more pairs will build in the same tree. As these 
pretty birds glide through the air they make a re¬ 
markable picture. 

The straw-necked ibis, a native of Australia, wears 
a beautiful garment, which is made especially at¬ 
tractive by the stiff yellow feathers on the neck and 
throat of the birds. 

The ancient Egyptians used to worship the sacred 
or Egyptian ibis and when it died they embalmed 
and worshiped it. This bird is an African species, 
frequently measuring over two feet and six inches 
in length, though the body of the bird is very small 
in proportion to its length, being about the size of 
an ordinary fowl. The Egyptians still regard the 
bird as an emblem of purity and reverence it. 

The glossy ibis is one of the smallest members of 


248 Birds the Indians Knew 

this interesting family of birds and is a native of 
Africa, but migrates northward into Europe and 
sometimes as far as Great Britain. It is also a North 
American bird, and strangely enough has many of 
the habits of the sacred ibis. Its black frock with 
reddish-brown and purple-green hues is very pretty. 

The wood ibis is probably the best known species 
of this family in the United States, especially in the 
lower parts of Louisiana, Carolina, Georgia and 
Florida. It is also found in various parts of this 
country, but seldom migrates north of Virg inia 
These birds nest at various heights above water, but 
usually near the end of branches, where their rudely 
built homes sway back and forth with every breeze. 
The little home is really strongly built of woven 
sticks. 








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